Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
6-115-4; MVC
Wichita St.
6-113-2; MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 27 | 29 | 56 |
| Wichita State | 21 | 37 | 58 |
Men's Basketball Falls, 58-56, at Wichita State
01/22/2005 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2005
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
WICHITA, Kan. - Southern Illinois lost a Missouri Valley Conference regular-season game for just the fourth time in the last three seasons, falling to Wichita State Saturday, 58-56.
Kyle Wilson hit a fade-away jumper for the Shockers with 29 seconds left. The Salukis had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Darren Brooks' in-bounds pass under the basket with six seconds left went awry, and SIU could not get off a final shot.
The win pulled the Shockers (13-2, 6-1) into a first place tie with the Salukis (15-4, 6-1). The teams will play a rematch at Southern on Feb. 26, in a game that could decide the conference title.
"We put ourselves in a position to win on the road in a hostile place," Saluki head coach Chris Lowery said. "We didn't make the final play. You do at home, you don't on the road."
The game between the top two teams in the MVC was everything the sometimes deafening sold-out crowd at Charles Koch hoped it would be. Wichita State broke a five-game losing streak against Southern and showed it could compete with the team that has won the conference regular season the last three years.
"They're deeper and more disciplined (than previous WSU teams) and have totally bought in to (Shocker coach Mark) Turg (eon)," Lowery said. "That's the difference."
SIU led by as many as nine points in the first half as Brooks poured in 13 of the team's 27 points to give the Salukis a six-point halftime advantage, 27-21.
"That was the best half of defense we've played," Lowery said, as his team held the Shockers to 29 percent from the field and limited their starters to just seven points.
However, Wichita forward Jamar Howard scored the first three baskets of the second half as the Shockers went on a 9-0 run to put WSU up 30-27 and whip the crowd into a frenzy.
"(Howard) was very aggressive and got our guys into foul trouble," Lowery said. "That's what we need our guys to do -- is to draw fouls instead of just trying to turn and get the shot up before it gets blocked."
Lowery called a timeout and SIU responded by reeling off six-straight points on two layups by Brooks and one by Matt Shaw to regain a 33-30 advantage.
Southern was clinging to a 41-38 lead with 9:36 remaining when the Shockers went on an 11-0 run to grab their biggest lead of the night, 49-41, on a basket by Randy Burns with 5:15 to go.
But a road savvy Saluki squad refused to fold and responded with a run of its own that included a pair of 3-point bombs by Jamaal Tatum, who finished the game with a career-high 21 points.
The Salukis tied the contest, 56-56, on a pair of free throws by Matt Shaw with 1:30 to go.
On Wichita's next possession SIU's Randal Falker stole the ball from Howard, and the Salukis had possession and a chance to take the lead with under a minute remaining.
Three shots within a few feet of the basket would not fall, however. Brooks missed a leaner from six feet out, and Falker's tip-in rolled off the iron. Shaw grabbed the offensive board and powered to the goal, but his lay-in would not go down, either.
"They were all tough shots," Lowery said. "We always instruct our guys to go to the basket, and they did. We just didn't get a basket to go down."
Wilson grabbed the defensive rebound for the Shockers and performed the winning heroics on the offensive end for Wichita State moments later.
The Salukis had two cracks at the end of the game to tie or win. Brooks, who finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, missed a leaning jumper with six seconds left, but the ball went out of bounds back to SIU. On the ensuing in-bounds play, Brooks' pass was intended for Shaw, who slipped.
"We got what we wanted," Lowery said. "We knew that they would switch on Jamaal (Tatum) with a big and we got Matt Shaw wide open. We just made the wrong pass. It should have come underneath on the bounce."
Instead, the ball rolled out to mid-court where Falker picked it up and threw a wild pass toward the basket that was intercepted by Howard.
"We talk about the heart of a champion and making a championship run," Lowery said. "I think we did, but we just didn't finish the game off like I'd like to see."
The Salukis are 39-4 in MVC regular season games since the start of the 2002-03 season. They play at SMS on Wednesday night.
