Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
4-1
Virginia Tech
3-2
Men's Basketball slips by Virginia Tech, 69-64
11/26/2006 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2006
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - After blowing a late lead against Arkansas on Thanksgiving Day, the Salukis held their usual postgame meeting back at the hotel to dissect the game.
The only difference was that head coach Chris Lowery didn't do the talking. Instead, he told senior guards Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young to run the meeting and explain to the team why it lost to the Razorbacks and how to correct it in the future.
It was a test, and the players passed with flying colors. Not only did they say the right things, but when faced with a similar circumstance Sunday against Virginia Tech, SIU put words into practice to seize a 69-64 win against the Hokies.
Southern Illinois (4-1) led by 12 points early in the second half, but Virginia Tech (3-2) chipped away at the lead until it pulled ahead, 55-53, on a 3-pointer by A.D. Vassallo with 7:14 remaining in the game.
From there, it was a see-saw battle, with five ties and two lead changes before Tatum broke a 64-64 tie with a 3-point dagger from the top of the key with 24 seconds left in the game.
Prior to Tatum's heroics, Saluki fans surely had visions of the Arkansas game going through their minds. But SIU had learned its lesson.
Referring to Thursday night's meeting, Lowery explained, "I made (Tatum and Young) get up and talk about the things we didn't do. When your seniors say everything that the coaches are going to say, then you know that they've got it."
Here are some examples of what they got.
With the score tied, 58-58, there were no less than three Salukis diving on the floor for a loose ball. Matt Shaw and Bryan Mullins came up empty, but Young corralled the leather and was fouled. His two free throws gave Southern a lead and some breathing room.
With the score tied, 62-62, Randal Falker shielded two Tech players with his body to come up with a key defensive rebound. On SIU's next possession Mullins displayed a new-found assertiveness to score a driving layup that put SIU back on top with 1:34 to go.
"Discipline to do the fundamental stuff, the block-outs, the little things," were the keys to victory, Lowery said.
Virginia Tech had expended so much energy during its comeback that it could not defend Tatum as the shot clock winded down on the last critical possession of the game.
"We didn't grit our teeth down at the end of the clock," said Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg. "They were waiting for us to make a defensive mistake."
Yet another example of the Salukis "getting it" was the fact the winning play wasn't even designed to go to Tatum, who was looking inside for Falker.
"Once we didn't get it, and they took that away, (Tatum) went and made a play," Lowery said. "That's the difference between our kids being robots and looking at me, and going out and doing the things they need to do."
The Salukis were clearly fatigued at the end, too, since all five starters played at least 30 minutes, but they seemed to reach down for a little extra.
"It was gut-check time for us," Lowery said. "That's stuff we talk about in our program, having them do drills, and when they're completely exhausted, we call it gut-check."
Greenberg called it the mark of a quality program.
"That team right there is going to be an NCAA Tournament team," he said. "They buy into the system, and they expect to win. To me, that's impressive. I have a great deal of respect for what they're doing there."
Virginia Tech guards Zabian Dowdell and Deron Washington were a handful for the Salukis to defend. At 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-7, respectively, they used their length and quickness to slash to the basket and combine for 34 of Tech's points.
Unlike the Arkansas game, though, SIU was able to slow the Virginia Tech fast break just enough.
"That was the difference in the game -- us keeping them out of transition," Lowery said.
That, plus the fact his team understood how to correct its own mistakes.
"When the kids can rally around themselves and not have the coach be rah-rah, and understand what they need to do without me telling them, it's very important," Lowery said.
The win against the Atlantic Coast Conference Hokies gave SIU its second "W" against a power conference team. On Friday, Southern beat Big Ten Minnesota.
"I know all of our team expects to win when they step on the court, no matter who it is," Tatum said.
"We take out of this tournament that we can play three high-quality opponents from any league and be successful against them," added Lowery.
The Salukis certainly earned Greenberg's respect.
"They're a very good basketball team," he said. "They're extremely well-coached, they have winning players, they've got a tradition they believe in."
