Southern Illinois University
2-0
Indianapolis
1-1
Men's Basketball tops Indianapolis, 84-69
11/17/2009 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2009
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - A program well-known for its tenacious defense and low-scoring games, Southern Illinois has suddenly turned into an offensive juggernaut. After scoring 91 points in the opener against UT-Martin, the Salukis came out smoking again in an 84-69 win over Indianapolis Tuesday night.
The Salukis (2-0) blistered the nets from 3-point range once more, this time making 11-of-19 treys. On the season, Southern is shooting 52 percent from outside the arc. Five players scored in double figures, and point guard Kevin Dillard led the way with his first-career double-double, scoring 16 points and adding 10 assists.
Offense won't put a smile on head coach Chris Lowery's face, however, unless it is accompanied by lockdown D.
"We really showed our youth tonight," Lowery said. "We tried to score 91 points again, and we didn't defend how we did the last game. They had four guys in double figures -- one of them played only 12 minutes. We can't always focus on scoring."
The sixth-year head coach said he's partly to blame, because he's lengthened the leash on his young, athletic squad.
"I told them that they have way more freedom than any other team that I've ever coached, because we have way more weapons," Lowery explained. "With us playing this many people, though, we need to guard better."
SIU never trailed in the game against the Division II Greyhounds (1-1), but the visitors kept it close with hot 3-point shooting of their own. Indy made 6-of-8 triples in the first half and trailed, 41-36, at the break.
Southern pulled away by starting the second half with a 10-0 run that included two buckets apiece from the front-court duo of Nick Evans and Anthony Booker. They each finished with 11 points and were a major factor in the win.
"(The Greyhounds) are small, and we really took advantage of that," Lowery said. "We did a good job of getting (the post players) the ball."
Steering the offense was Dillard, who now has 14 assists and just two turnovers on the season.
"We talked before the game that drive and kicks would be open, and dump to the big would be open, so I just took what the defense gave me," Dillard said. "I tried to get into the paint and took my options."
Senior guard Tony Freeman said the team may have taken Indianapolis lightly, even though it watched film of the Greyhounds beating Division I Valparaiso in an exhibition.
"I personally thought we didn't play with enough passion, especially in the first half," Freeman said. "Coach got on to us in the locker room. It kind of lit a fire underneath us, just playing with passion not taking teams for granted."
Now that it is 2-0 at home, the big question for Southern is whether it can take the act on the road. SIU plays at UNLV on Saturday as part of the Missouri Valley Conference-Mountain West Conference Challenge.
"We can't expect to score 84 at Vegas," Lowery noted. "We've settled into a ten-man rotation, but now when you go on the road, that rotation is going to tighten up a bit."
Lowery reiterated how much he likes his team, though.
"When we play hard, we're good," he said. "Our chemistry is great right now. If you watch our bench, you see the guys cheering for one another and jumping up and down, which means that we have a chance to win on the road."
