Southern Illinois University
11-2, 2-0MVC
Drake
4-6, 1-2MVC
Men's Basketball Defeats Drake, 51-45
01/02/2005 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2005
By Scott Mees
www.SIUSalukis.com
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Coach Lowery | Owen/Tatum | Warren
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki defense came through once again - forcing 23 turnovers - to give the team a seven-game winning streak.
Darren Brooks scored 12 points Sunday as the Southern Illinois University men's basketball team edged Drake 51-45 in a Missouri Valley Conference matinee.
SIU (11-2, 2-0 MVC) drew another good crowd (6,619), but it certainly was not an easy win.
Drake (4-6, 1-2) guard Chaun Brooks hit a jump shot - with 5:53 left in the game - to pull the Bulldogs within two points, 43-42. Saluki center Josh Warren nailed a free-throw line jumper to put SIU up 45-42.
"We didn't make shots, and we didn't look to the post enough," said SIU head coach Chris Lowery. "We took some questionable shots and made some bad passes in transition, which could've really opened things up for us."
The Saluki head coach was very complimentary of Drake's head coach, Dr. Tom Davis.
"He did a very good job of preparing for us," Lowery said. "They made this game, and they put their will on us.
"We just made more shots than them."
After a scoring lull for both teams, Tony Young led the fast break and dished the ball to LaMar Owen for a layup - and a Saluki advantage of 47-42 with two minutes left in the game.
Drake center Aliou Keita connected in the paint for a 3-point play, and Southern's magnificent home record was in jeopardy. But, Owen came up with a block, a steal and a layup in the game's final minute to push SIU to another victory.
The Bulldogs played a tough zone defense, but Owen was simply clutch.
"We just came down and hit some shots at the end," Owen said. "I think we're going to be the team that brings the most intensity on the defensive end.
"Our team likes to get steals and that brings us offense."
Owen finished with 10 points in just 19 minutes of action.
Randal Falker led SIU in rebounding with seven, but Drake won the battle of the boards 35-29.
Klayton Korver led the Bulldogs with nine points, but he shot just 2-of-8 from the field. Drake turned the ball over 23 times, including at least three apiece by five different players.
"Nobody on their team scored in double figures," Lowery said. "Ultimately, we did what we wanted to do defensively in the end."
In the first half, Brooks drove through the lane for a layup - and followed that with a long jump shot - as the Salukis began the game with a 14-6 advantage. During that opening run, Jamaal Tatum passed the ball to a streaking Falker for an impressive dunk over two defenders.
SIU had the rebounding edge 15-14 in the first half, and it led 26-21 at halftime.
The Salukis committed 13 turnovers and shot just four free throws in the game.
"I was very disappointed in our senior leadership," Lowery said. "We turned the ball over like we were freshman, and that's bad.
"But it's coach
SIU usually wins by a sizeable margin when it forces 20-plus turnovers, but Drake hung around until the final buzzer sounded.
"We forced 23 turnovers, and we didn't get hardly any points off of those," Lowery said. "Obviously, you don't want to play like this before going on the road, but we need a game like this to see how we react to it."
Despite the ugly look to the game, coach Lowery was still pleased with the end result.
"We had some poise, we had some setbacks, but we won the game," Lowery said.
Drake committed its first foul of the second half at the 8:12 mark; SIU had been called for eight fouls at that point. However, Lowery did not have any problems with the game's officials.
"It's our non-aggression on the block, and we didn't throw it down there enough," Lowery said. "When you don't go to the basket and you settle for jumpers, like we were doing, that's what happens."
Coach Davis repeatedly hounded the officials - from the sideline - for the Salukis' aggressive defense and hand-checking, but he said - after the game - that the referees were three of the conference's best.
"That's a credit to this school, and what they've done,"
"I wish it were me, and I applaud them for it."
SIU returns to action on Wednesday when it faces Louisiana-Lafayette on the road. The contest begins at 7:05 p.m.
