Men's Basketball wins exhibition opener against Quincy, 70-64

Thursday, November 2

Carbondale, Ill.

7:05 PM

Southern Illinois University

Quincy University

11/02/2006 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball

Nov. 2, 2006

By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com

Box Score | Photo Gallery/Podcasts

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki head coach Chris Lowery didn't shower his team with praise after it beat Quincy, 70-64, Thursday night in the exhibition opener for both teams.

The third-year head coach wasn't pleased with his team's intensity, especially on defense.

Southern led virtually the entire game, and by as many as 13 points on three occasions. However, the Salukis never sustained enough momentum to deliver a knock-out punch to the Division II Hawks.

"I wasn't very happy at all," Lowery said. "They just thought that they were going to go in and have fun and (Quincy) was going to quit. They didn't quit."

The Hawks never seriously threatened the lead in the second half, but they did make 48.5 percent of their shots and stay within a half dozen points of a heavily favored Saluki team.

"We've just got to have a lot more energy," said point guard Bryan Mullins, who had 13 points and seven assists. "Their guys got into the lane way too much and had a lot of uncontested shots."

There were some bright spots for the Salukis. Four players scored in double figures, led by Tony Young's 18 points. Plus, Southern played without last year's leading scorer, Jamaal Tatum, and reserve forward Jamaal Foster, who were both serving suspensions.

Young said the team's deficiencies are correctable.

"It's just a lot of simple stuff," he said. "A lot of small effort things -- just getting the team to play hard once you get tired or fatigued."

Forward Randal Falker had a big night with 14 points and nine rebounds. He scored eight points during a five-minute flurry in the second half, including a monster dunk that gave SIU a 53-40 lead with 10:49 remaining.

"His energy level was tremendous," Lowery said.

On one play, Falker was standing underneath the basket and sprinted all the way to the other end on a loose ball to collect a dunk.

"That's phenomenal to be able to do something like that, run that far and be able to beat the other guys to the ball," Lowery said.

Lowery said he was pleased with his team's motion offense.

"We're just running straight motion, just playing, and we still scored 70 points," he said. "We didn't play hard, so that's the key. It could be scary how good we are with everybody there, and if we play hard."

"Coach is really trying to make us become better players offensively," Mullins explained. "Not just by giving us plays and running us like robots. We're really trying to create for ourselves and run off screens."

Lowery said he thinks Quincy will be a Division II NCAA Tournament team and said playing the Hawks in an exhibition was better than playing a sponsored squad of older players.

"It is so good to play these guys instead of shoe teams, because you blow them out by 30 and you don't prepare yourself," he said. "(Quincy) has been preparing as long as we have. They have a game plan, which is good."