Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
13-12
Drake
22-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 36 | 26 | 62 |
| Southern Illinois | 39 | 26 | 65 |
Men's Basketball knocks off No. 14 Drake, 65-62
02/13/2008 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2008
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - In a season littered with close losses, Southern Illinois finally found a way to win a nail-biter, beating No. 14 Drake Wednesday night and ending the Bulldogs' 21-game winning streak.
The Salukis (13-12, 8-6) led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but SIU fans have seen their team blow leads and lose on the last possession three times already this season.
So no one in the animated crowd of 5,712 was surprised to see the Bulldogs (22-2, 13-1) rally to tie the game, 62-62, on a 3-pointer by Josh Young with 1:35 remaining. They've seen this story before.
This time, however, Southern Illinois didn't follow the same script.
Immediately after Young's basket, the Salukis broke Drake's full-court pressure and got an easy transition basket by Wesley Clemmons to regain the lead.
With SIU ahead, 64-62, the stage was set for Drake to pull-off the comeback, but Adam Emmenecker's driving layup with 10 seconds left rimmed out, and Clemmons grabbed the rebound.
Matt Shaw was fouled with 2.8 seconds remaining, but split the free throws, giving the Bulldogs one last chance to tie. With two defenders in his face, Drake's Leonard Houston got off s 3-pointer that drew iron, Saluki fans celebrated, and the team breathed a sigh of relief.
"We've come up with the short end of the stick with several this season," Saluki head coach Chris Lowery said. "Our guys came up in the end and got it done, that's what it's about -- protecting your home court, no matter who your opponent is."
The victory extended SIU's home-winning streak against Missouri Valley Conference teams to 18 games and improved its mark to 60-1 against the MVC in the past seven years.
Drake head coach Keno Davis said he could not fault his team, which rallied from deficits on several occasions, for losing in Carbondale.
"I think in this conference, if every game on the road goes down to the last minute, I think you'd be pretty happy with that as a coach," he said. " So I didn't want them to get too down, because we lost at a place that no one ever wins at."
The game featured a dramatic contrast in playing styles. Drake's offense was geared toward screening and rapid ball movement, looking to free up the team's potent shooters. Twenty-nine of the Bulldogs' 51 shots were 3-pointers. The two most effective weapons were Young, who made 5-of-10 triples and finished with 17 points, and Klayton Korver, who added 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting from outside the arc.
"They made some bombs today," said Lowery. "We knew Korver and Young could make those long, NBA threes."
By contrast, Southern wanted to run a half-court game and get the ball inside to forward Randal Falker. Drake's tightly packed zone defense met with limited success, though, as Falker led the team with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"I think our gameplan was to try to limit their inside scoring," Davis said. " Randal is the preseason player of the year, he's seen double teams all year."
All the attention on Falker left SIU's shooters open, and they took advantage, making 9-of-20 from 3-point range.
"I thought we were aggressive," Lowery said. "Last time we played them, I thought we didn't attack them when we broke the press. We played right into what they do. This time we attacked them, we took our layups when we had them. I thought Randal did a good job of sealing those guys and holding them off, and we had a chance to make plays."
The victory, coupled with Creighton's loss at Evansville, drew the Salukis into a tie for third place in the MVC with the Bluejays. Both teams trail second-place Illinois State by two games.
