Southern Illinois University
27-8
Oklahoma St.
26-6
Men's Basketball Can't Overcome Oklahoma State Orange
03/20/2005 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
March 20, 2005
By Scott Mees
www.SIUSalukis.com
Box Score | Photo Gallery
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The Salukis got off to a good start and built a seven-point lead by halftime, but
Ivan McFarlin scored a career-high 31 points Sunday as the Cowboys defeated the Southern Illinois University men's basketball team, 85-77, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the
"He (McFarlin) had 31 points - I think that was a huge difference," said SIU head coach Chris Lowery. "We knew it was coming and we struggle with big guys that can score. He just dominated physically. It was all toughness."
SIU (27-8) simply could not contain McFarlin in either half. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward made easy shots and was nearly flawless from the free-throw line (11-of-12).
Jamaal Tatum led the Salukis with 22 points, and Darren Brooks added 17 points and seven rebounds. Matt Shaw tallied 10 points, Mike Dale scored nine, and LaMar Owen chipped in with eight points.
"We came out hyped up and ready to go," Brooks said. "We tried to pressure their guards, but they got on a run and made some tough shots."
The Cowboys' JamesOn Curry, a freshman, did not take a shot in the first half but nailed a pair of 3-pointers - at the beginning of the second half - to finish with 18 points.
"They (SIU) are not a mid-major team and could play in the Big 12 or any major conference," said
Sutton praised Brooks after the game and said he wished he had recruited him at OSU.
Brooks drove to the hoop and made a layup to end the 12-0 OSU run in the second half, and SIU stuck with the Cowboys for bit after that. Brooks hit one of two free throws to give SIU its final lead, 52-51, with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game.
Shaw scored inside and followed by splitting a pair of free throws to pull the Salukis within one point, 56-55, with 10 minutes left. But, McFarlin scored eight of the Cowboys' next 12 points to extend their lead to 11 points, 68-57.
"You've got to give credit to them (OSU)," Shaw said. "It was hard down in the post, and they played better than we did."
The Salukis climbed to within four points on a Tatum 3-pointer, 72-68, with two minutes remaining, but could not pull it out in the end. It was a high-scoring contest which does not favor the defense-oriented Salukis.
"I really tried to calm us down," Lowery said. "We haven't seen anyone pressure us like that all year at the guard position. They took us out of things and got after our big guys."
SIU shot 41-percent for the game (23-of-56) and 31-percent from downtown (6-of-19). The team did well from the foul line (25-for-30), but lost the rebounding battle (30-28).
"We came out and played our style of game," said SIU's Stetson Hairston. "We played good defense and hit our free throws."
The first half was a completely different story for SIU, as it matched any run that OSU made in the opening 20 minutes. Tatum hit a pair of 3s as SIU jumped out to an 8-2 advantage, but OSU fought back to take a 12-11 lead. Owen tipped in a Brooks miss and hit a jumper to give the Salukis a 15-14 edge.
Brooks made two free throws and then hit Mike Dale for a fast-break layup - this gave SIU a 19-17 edge. Moments later, the Cowboys went on a 9-0 run and took a 26-20 lead with nine minutes left in the first half.
Dale scored nine points in a row for SIU during a one-minute span late in the first half, and SIU maintained a 37-33 advantage. Tatum and Brooks scored the remaining nine points for the Salukis as they took a 46-39 lead into the intermission.
Many of the Saluki players were overwhelmed with emotion following the loss, but they all had high hopes for the future of SIU basketball.
"I'm proud to say I'm a Saluki," Hairston said. "I have confidence in these guys."
Brooks added, "I think it's got a great future. There's great young guys up here and some good recruits coming in."
Coach Lowery wraps up a terrific first season as a head coach. The former Saluki player praised his players, and especially the seniors.
"We have tremendous young men, in this program, who started this thing and built this program into what it is now," Lowery said. "They came in and played in a tough situation - this was basically a home game (for OSU)."
The SIU head coach also said it would be extremely hard for his younger players to let this group of seniors go.
"We have four great seniors," Lowery said. "Two of the best the program ever had. One's jersey will probably hang in our rafters.
"It is hard to look ahead."
