Southern Illinois University
9-416-7; MVC
Wichita St.
10-319-5; MVC
Men's Basketball drops double-overtime game at Wichita State
02/04/2006 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2006
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
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WICHITA, Kan. - Southern Illinois lost its second, double-overtime heartbreaker of the season, falling to Wichita State, 71-63, negating a heroic rally that sent the game into extra sessions Saturday.
The Salukis (16-7, 9-4) trailed by 11 points with eight minutes remaining in the second half. A delirious, sold-out crowd made a comeback seem unlikely at best.
However, SIU guard Tony Young defied the home team and its fans by hitting five shots from 3-point range to bring his squad back from the brink.
Teammate Jamaal Tatum capped off the improbable comeback by nailing a dramatic, off-balance 30-footer at the buzzer to tie the game, 53-53.
"It was a hell of a shot," Wichita State head coach Mark Turgeon said. "A guy right in his face, fading away from five feet behind the three. I knew it was in when it left his hand."
The Salukis had won the battle, but would ultimately lose the war, however.
In the final minute of regulation, SIU forward Randal Falker had picked up his fourth and fifth fouls. Southern's best interior defender and rebounder left the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds. It would come back to haunt the Salukis.
"It was huge for us," Turgeon said.
In the first overtime, the Salukis led 58-56 with 1:20 to go, when a pivotal play aided the fledgling Shockers. After Matt Braeuer missed a shot for Wichita, Bryan Mullins grabbed the long rebound for Southern, but Tatum bumped into him, and Mullins was whistled for travelling.
Saluki head coach Chris Lowery said it was a good call by the official, but a bad twist of fate for his team.
"Breaks that you normally get at home, you're not going to get them in a hostile environment," he said.
The Shockers took possession and scored on a PJ Couisnard layup with 1:05 remaining, sending the game to a second OT tied, 58-58.
The final five minutes of the contest were dominated by Shockers' center Paul Miller. With Falker on the bench for SIU, freshman forward Tony Boyle was unable to stop Miller, who made three-straight baskets in the post.
"We probably should have had Matt Shaw guarding (Miller) down the stretch," said Lowery, who conceded that none of his defenders did a good job of preventing Miller from catching the entry pass to begin with.
Meanwhile, the Salukis went cold from the perimeter and did not score in the second overtime until Young hit a three with 1:21 to play.
"You can't be mad at your kids based on three minutes of the game," Lowery said. "It was an incredible college basketball game."
Young's 24th point cut the Shockers' lead to 66-61, but Wichita State made its free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Miller led the Shockers (19-5, 10-3) with a career-high 30 points. He was rarely double-teamed down low because the Salukis were worried about the kick-out pass.
"We wanted to make sure we didn't let (Wichita State) get off threes," Lowery said. "They've been shooting the basketball extremely well here."
Neither team shot the ball well statistically, though, with Southern making 30 percent and Wichita State 37 percent.
The Salukis made eight 3-pointers, but those were offset by the Shockers' enormous advantage at the free throw line. WSU made 24-of-34 free throw attempts to SIU's 11-of-15.
Lowery contrasted today's game with the one Southern Illinois lost in double-overtime earlier this season at Northern Iowa. In that contest, Lowery felt his team handed a victory to the Panthers on a silver platter.
"It's not like we gave it away today," he said. "(Wichita State) played hard and played to win."
Today's matchup was an intense, rugged affair, with each subsequent possession taking on added importance.
"I told our guys at halftime, `We're not very good at football, but we've got to play football. We've got to hit guys and be strong when you're going to the basket,'" Turgeon said. "The only way you're going to get a whistle is if you go up strong."
The Salukis dropped one game behind league-leading Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, but Lowery wasn't ready to concede the title that SIU has won four-straight years.
"Seasons aren't decided on one game, three-quarters of the way through the race," he said. "Anything can happen."
In light of today's game, that may be the truest statement of all.
