Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
12-2, 3-0
Drake
9-5, 0-3
Men's Basketball beats Drake with 'The Pass'
01/04/2007 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2007
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
DES MOINES, Iowa - Last year, Tony Young hit "The Shot," to beat Drake. This year, he made "The Pass," to send the Bulldogs to another excruciating loss at the hands of Southern Illinois, 59-54.
With the score tied, 54-54, the Salukis (12-2, 3-0) were running out of time on both the shot clock and game clock.
SIU head coach Chris Lowery ran a play for guard Jamaal Tatum, who had already scored 20 points in the game. However, Tatum was well covered on the left wing and dished the ball to an open Young on the baseline.
Everyone in the gym expected Young to shoot the open 12-footer, but instead he flipped a no-look pass to Matt Shaw, who was cutting to the basket. Shaw scored, was fouled by Josh Young and made the free throw to put SIU up, 57-54, with 22 seconds remaining.
"All day in practice we talk about making the open pass and playing for our team," said Young, who finished with seven points and a team-high four assists. "When we get out on the court, there's so much trust between us that we don't care who takes the shot."
Lowery said his players understand what he means when he tells them to "make a play" at crunch time.
"I didn't tell (Tatum) to shoot it or score it," Lowery said. "That's the stuff we work on -- make a play. That doesn't mean be selfish, that doesn't mean shoot it."
Tatum tried to put a finger on why Southern Illinois is so successful in close games, especially in recent years against Drake. The last three games in Des Moines have been cliffhangers all won by SIU.
"We have faith in ourselves and our teammates and have confidence in our program and our system that something good is going to happen," Tatum explained. "When you work as hard as we do, you know something good will happen."
The Bulldogs (9-5, 0-3) had one last possession in the game, but rather than shoot a 3-pointer to tie, Nick Grant drove to the basket and missed a short jumper in traffic with seven seconds left. Young grabbed the rebound and heaved the ball down the floor to Randal Falker, who slammed home two more points for SIU at the buzzer.
"When you talk about putting a good season together, you're going to have to win close games," Lowery said. "Fortunately, we have seniors who made plays down the stretch and were so unselfish."
Drake seemed poised for an upset after causing 10 first-half turnovers with its full-court press and grabbing a 30-24 halftime lead. The Salukis made just six more turnovers in the second half.
"I probably should have called timeout a few times against the press, but I just told them that I trusted them," Lowery said. "You've got to overcome mistakes."
The key run came early in the second half, as the Salukis used an 11-1 spurt to take a 42-37 lead at the 12:27 mark. It started with a Bryan Mullins' 3-pointer and included back-to-back 3-point plays by Tatum.
But Drake stuck to its game plan and continued to press on defense and attack the basket on offense. The Bulldogs made only five field goals in the second half, because they kept drawing fouls and shooting free throws. They converted 14-of-16 from the charity stripe in the second half and 24-of-27 in the game.
"(Drake) had a heck of a game plan, and they executed it to perfection," Lowery said. "They grind you. They drew fouls on us. We had to learn how to play through that."
Both Al Stewart and Nick Grant made 9-of-10 free throws each for the Bulldogs.
"Coach was telling me to be aggressive and take it to the basket," Stewart said, referring to Bulldogs mentor Dr. Tom Davis. "They really couldn't guard me."
Davis said his team played very well in spurts, but made key mistakes at the end, such as a five-second call on Stewart with 1:15 left in the game.
"You better value every possession, because you're not going to get many of them (against Southern Illinois)," Davis said.
He also lamented the Salukis' advantage on the backboard, praising Falker, who grabbed 12 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.
"Who's better in the league than he is at going after the ball?" Davis asked.
Ultimately, though, the game was not decided by rebounding or free throw shooting or turnovers against the press. It came down to unselfishness on the part of the Salukis, who have won 15-straight games against the Bulldogs.
"We care so much about each other on and off the court," Young said. "JT was hot the whole game, so he could have took the shot. Then I was open, and I could've took the shot."
Instead, Young made "The Pass," and SIU claimed the victory.
