Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
5-9, 0-3MVC
Drake
11-4, 2-1MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 36 | 31 | 67 |
| Southern Illinois | 31 | 29 | 60 |
Drake hands Men's Basketball third-straight loss
01/04/2009 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2009
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Drake handed Southern Illinois its third-straight loss, as the Bulldogs made 21-of-25 free throws in the second half to pull out a victory on Sunday at SIU Arena.
The Salukis (5-9, 0-3) played well in spurts and seemed poised to take a step forward after last Wednesday's disheartening home loss to Northern Iowa and the subsequent departure of two reserve players.
A put-back by Carlton Fay gave Southern a 54-52 lead over the defending Missouri Valley Conference champions with 7:06 remaining in the game. The contest remained close down the stretch, but the Salukis made critical mistakes that cost them a chance to win it. Twice, SIU missed the front end of a one-and-one. Twice, the Salukis missed point-blank lay-up opportunities, and twice, they committed careless turnovers.
"These things have been going on all year," Saluki head coach Chris Lowery said. "We have to get better."
The Bulldogs (11-4, 2-1) shot just 23 percent in the second half, but they made their free throws and sprinkled in a few clutch shots to secure the victory. Perhaps the biggest was a 3-pointer by Craig Stanley with 5:08 left that gave Drake a 58-54 lead. Stanley led the Bulldogs with a career-high17 points.
"When it counted, I thought our kids made all the right and correct, good-basketball plays down the homestretch of the game," said Drake coach Mark Phelps.
The Salukis closed the gap to 58-56 on free throws by Kevin Dillard with 2:48 to go. They even got possession back with a chance to tie, but Dillard, who finished with a career-best 22 points, was stripped by Adam Templeton and committed his only turnover of the night. He immediately fouled Templeton, who pushed the lead by back to four by hitting both free throws.
For most of the night, Dillard was the dominant player on the floor. He scored 16 points in the first half with an array of 3-point shots and creative looks off dribble penetration.
"He's our money guy right now," Lowery said. "We have to ride him. He's a freshman, but he's scoring the ball, he's assisting, he had a lot of life and energy. He had to play 38 minutes today because he was doing that."
In the second half, Lowery said Drake focused it defense on stopping the freshman.
"They really took Kevin out," he said. "They shaded him and made him give it up."
Dillard rounded out his game with a career-high six rebounds and five assists.
"I just took what the defense gave us," he said. "(The coaches) prepared us well for the 3-2 zone, and we came out and executed."
Southern limited Josh Young and and Jonathan Cox -- Drake's top-two scorers -- to 6-of-17 shooting from the field. Lowery said he has has backed off from playing the type of pressure defense the program is known for. The Salukis had a season-low two steals.
"It's indicative of a young defensive team," he said. "We have to play more position than more pressure. They're not where they need to be defensively, but I'd rather have them keep Josh Young from going and getting 30 and making him shoot tough threes on the perimeter."
SIU guard Bryan Mullins had only one assist on the night, but it was all he needed to surpass Wayne Abrams as the career assist leader at SIU. The senior guard now has 466 assists.
The Salukis are 0-3 in the league for the first time since 1987, however both Lowery and Dillard said the mindset of the team is improving.
"You have to have a lockerroom and a bench and a family where things are cohesive," Lowery said. "When it's not cohesive, you have to change the way you do things to cater, and we couldn't cater anymore."
Added Dillard, "The last couple days of practice have been a lot better than previous practices. Everybody is getting their chemistry together. We just have to stay together and try to win basketball games."
