Southern Illinois University
1-2
Alaska-Anchorage
5-2
Men's Basketball loses to Alaska-Anchorage, 72-64
11/25/2005 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2005
By Shalae Schulte
www.siusalukis.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Anchorage led Southern Illinois the entire game to hand the Salukis their first loss to a Division II school in 10 years Friday afternoon at Sullivan Arena.
UAA scored 27 of its 72 points at the free throw line as the Salukis committed 30 fouls and had three players foul out of the game.
"I knew that they were going to be ready to play," Saluki head coach Chris Lowery said. "It was their home court. Again, we started out slow and didn't come ready to compete, and they got going right away. We out-rebounded them by six and forced 18 turnovers. We didn't do a good job of converting those turnovers."
Jamaal Tatum led the Salukis with 16 points, three assists and two steals, playing only five minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Mike Dale chipped in 11 points, and for the second-straight game, pulled down a career-high seven boards. Matt Shaw scored nine points, all in the second half, playing only four minutes in the first half.
UAA seemed energized by the home crowd, coming out early and scoring five unanswered points on a lay up and a 3-pointer. Tatum answered with a bucket, but the Seawolves pulled away leading by as many as 13 through the first 15 minutes of play.
The Salukis' only salvation of the first half came from their bench, which scored 18 of the team's 30 first-half points. SIU tied the game at 28 on a dunk by Tony Boyle with 4:21 left in the half. Five Saluki turnovers, however, gave the Seawolves a quick nine points, as UAA led 37-30 at the half.
The closest SIU came in the second half was within two on a bucket by Jamaal Foster at the 10-minute mark.
Randall Falker, Tony Young and Bryan Mullins all fouled out for SIU, who committed 30 fouls to the Seawolves' 15.
The game was highlighted by the tough play of big men Tony Boyle and Jamaal Foster off the bench. Foster had nine points, five boards and a career-high four blocks, while Boyle added seven points.
"We were trying to get somebody out there that wanted to win," Lowery said of his use of his bench. "We can't afford to be lackadaisical to start games, and get soft on defense. Our bench played as well as they've played all year. That's the most production we've seen. It makes me feel more comfortable when we go to the bench."
The team last fell to a Division II team in December of 1995 when they lost to Nebraska-Kearney, 94-81, in the second round of the National Airlines Tipoff Tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Southern (1-2) dropped their second-straight game at the Great Alaska Shootout in as many days. Host Alaska-Anchorage improves to 5-2 on the season.
SIU's 1-2 record is the worst start for the Salukis since they dropped three of their first four contests in 1999.
Southern plays for seventh place in the consolation bracket of the tournament Saturday against Eastern Washington at 1 p.m. CST.
