Southern Illinois University
9-4 (2-2MVC)
Northern Iowa
13-1 (4-0MVC)
Men's Basketball falls to UNI, 61-49
01/06/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2010
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Northern Iowa controlled the tempo and used a superior half-court attack to beat Southern Illinois, 61-49, Wednesday night and win a school-record 12th-straight game.
The Panthers (13-1, 4-0) never trailed in the contest and led by as many 25 points before a late rally by Southern. Seven-foot center Jordan Eglseder was a dominant force inside, creating angles to the basket with his immense size to score 17 points, while grabbing 14 rebounds to pace UNI.
"Jordan is playing with a lot of confidence right now, and our guys do a good job of finding him," said UNI head coach Ben Jacobson.
The Salukis (9-4, 2-2) entered the contest averaging 75 points per game, but they were held to their lowest point total of the season and under 50 points for the first time in their last 35 games.
"It was our shot selection, and it's my fault," said SIU head coach Chris Lowery. "We have a to find a way to get this team back together. We've been very selfish the last two games and it's on us, on the coaching staff, it's on myself."
Southern has thrived in up-tempo games this year, but UNI never let the Salukis run free in the open court. In fact, Southern recorded zero fast-break points.
"They are very good in transition, and we were fortunate to kind of get back and build that wall and limit some transition opportunities," Jacobson said.
The game had an ominous beginning for the Salukis, as their leading scorer, Kevin Dillard, was not in the starting lineup. Although not injured, the sophomore guard played a season-low 23 minutes and scored six points.
"He had a violation of team rules," Lowery explained. "He is not bigger than the team, and it's important that he knows that. That's unfortunate that it had to happen. He has the picture now, and he has to get back focused and help us win games."
With Dillard on the bench, the Panthers sprinted to a 9-0 lead in the first four minutes. Southern's explosive back court got off to a slow start and did not record a basket until Tony Freeman's 3-pointer with 10:53 remaining in the first-half, which cut the deficit to 20-10. Freeman was the only Saluki in double figures on the night with 13 points.
"We're taking hero shots every possession instead of good shots," Lowery said. "It's unfortunate that we are going through this right now, but at the same instance, we have to learn from this and grow from it."
After winning six-straight games, the Salukis have lost their last two.
"You don't win six games in a row if you don't have a good team," Lowery said. "We have to find the right magic again, get our mojo going back the right way and get our kids back to playing well."
Of some consolation to Lowery was his team's defensive effort in the second half. After shooting 50 percent in the first half, UNI made just 6-of-23 shots in the second.
"We held them to 26 percent (in the second half), but our shot selection blinded everything we did," Lowery said. "How we guarded is blinded by quick, tough shots over people, through people and without patience."
The Salukis return to action Saturday when they host Drake at 6:30 p.m.
