Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
2-3
Western Kentucky
2-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 32 | 38 | 70 |
| Western Kentucky | 40 | 39 | 79 |
Men's Basketball falls to Western Kentucky, 79-70
11/26/2008 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2008
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Southern Illinois rallied late, but couldn't get the defensive stops when it needed them most, losing to Western Kentucky, 79-70, on Thanksgiving Eve.
The trademark of the program in recent years has been its relentless defensive pressure, but too many times against the Hilltoppers, the Salukis (2-3) were out of position.
Western had a simple yet effective strategy for attacking SIU's traps -- drive to the basket and either shoot it or kick it out for a three. The formula worked time and again, as WKU converted 8-of-17 shots from 3-point range. The Hilltoppers also made 32 trips to the free throw line, as the Salukis could not keep from reaching and grabbing.
"We fouled 30 feet from the basket," Lowery lamented. "We didn't follow the gameplan."
Southern frequently played with two or three true freshmen on the floor, and the inexperience showed in missed defensive assignments.
"We're young, and that is not an excuse," Lowery said. "We have to get those guys to understand what we do well. We have to get them to believe in what we're doing."
The Salukis trailed by 17 points in the second half, before mounting a comeback. Bryan Mullins started a 15-3 run by drilling a 3-pointer and dishing to Tony Boyle for a dunk. Along the way, freshmen Anthony Booker, Ryan Hare and Torres Roundtree all contributed baskets.
When Hare hit a pair of free throws with 9:02 remaining, he pulled Southern to within 57-52. Western responded with a jumper by Anthony Sally and a 3-pointer by Steffphon Pettigrew to push the lead to 10.
Pettigrew, who had been mired in a slump, tied teammate Sergio Kerusch for team-high honors with 20 points. The two forwards were too often left open and combined to make 3-of-6 shots from 3-point range.
"Our rotations were pretty bad, and we had some situations where we didn't talk," Lowery said. "Talking is everything with us."
Twice, SIU cut the lead to six, but could come no closer.
After battling Duke and UCLA so fearlessly during the 2K Sports Classic last week, Lowery said he was surprised by his team's ambivalence early in the game against a Western Kentucky squad that was coming off a 28-point loss at Murray State.
"We can't play that hard, like we did at Madison Square Garden, then come and try to play at the end (at Western Kentucky)," he said.
The Salukis were often careless with the basketball, turning it over a dozen times in the first half.
""We have to learn to value the ball," Lowery said. "They have to learn that when they don't know what to do, they can't shoot it right away. You have to learn to reverse the ball and keep playing, and good things will happen. The ball will find you. We have to continue to teach that the ball will find you when you give yourself to the team."
There were several bright spots for Southern.
Hare came off the bench to score 16 points in 30 minutes.
"Ryan did great things," Lowery said. "He played starter minutes. Now we know we can depend on him. He did a lot of great things for us as far as guarding and being in the right position. He had good energy."
Lowery was also pleased with the play of Roundtree, who returned after missing two games with a bruised knee. The freshman scored three points and had two assists before fouling out.
As the freshmen improve, Lowery said he hopes to cut back the number of minutes Mullins has to play. The senior all-conference guard, who is coming off a stress fracture in his leg last season, scored 11 points a dished seven assists in 37 minutes.
"We can't play Bryan 37 minutes," he said. "We can't keep doing that to him. It's not good for him, and it's not good for our team."
Ultimately, the team must improve defensively, according to Lowery.
"Seventy points for us has always been enough on the road to win, especially the way we guard," he said. "We didn't guard tonight."
