Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
0-2
Northeastern
2-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeastern | 27 | 33 | 3 | 63 |
| Southern Illinois | 33 | 27 | 2 | 62 |
Northeastern edges Men's Basketball, 63-62, in OT
11/16/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2010
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Held in check for most of the game, Northeastern's best player -- Chaisson Allen -- made a free throw with two seconds remaining in overtime to lift Northeastern to a 63-62 overtime win over Southern Illinois in the College Hoops Tipoff Marathon on Tuesday morning.
Allen didn't score his first bucket until midway through the second half, but he got hot at the right time, scoring his team's final nine points, as the Huskies (2-0) rallied to send the game to overtime and then capitalized on a critical mistake by SIU in the waning moments.
Allen finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. His winning free throw came about because the Salukis (0-2) were whistled for a technical foul for calling a timeout when they had none remaining.
With the score tied, 62-62, and the clock running out, Allen missed a short jumper that was rebounded by Saluki forward Mamadou Seck. It was unclear which SIU player then asked for timeout.
"It wasn't a work of art, but I told our guys in the locker room if we could just hang in there, we would make our own breaks," said Northeastern coach Bill Coen.
The game was a war of styles, played out in front of an ESPN national television audience and a small but boisterous crowd of 4,054, many of whom took a break from work or school to attend the 9 a.m. game.
Southern Illinois had an advantage in the half court with its superior size and strength. Northeastern was the quicker team, forcing 23 turnovers and converting them into 20 points.
"I think it was like a boxing match," Coen said. "Both teams were fatigued and it's difficult to play that hard that long this early in the season in front of a tremendous college environment and crowd."
Saluki center Gene Teague dominated in the paint, recording his fourth, career double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. He also drew numerous fouls, forcing Northeastern to play beyond its seven-man rotation.
"Southern Illinois was very effective in getting the ball in and around the rim for a good portion of the game," said Coen, who switched from man defense to zone in the second half. "When we got into foul trouble, (we went with) a bit of a smaller line up. We tried to settle down and keep the ball out of the middle because Eugene Teague was really establishing himself. It was effective for us and generated some quick offense, which we needed."
Coaching in his 200th career game at SIU, Chris Lowery struggled to find a backcourt combination that could solve the Huskies' zone defense. He even had 6-foot-5 guard John Freeman running the point for stretches of the second half. Freeman had 13 points and four assists.
"We let them get us on our heels and we kept back-pedaling when we should have been just driving into the guts of that zone," he said."We have to execute better. It's us, it's me. We have to get better than that. The turnovers were humongous. We out-rebounded them, we got them to shoot 36 percent - we should win the basketball game, especially when they're on the road."
The Salukis nearly seized control of the game early in the second half, when Carlton Fay hit a jumper to put SIU ahead, 37-27. But SIU's offense went into a funk, as seven different players committed 10 turnovers during a 10-minute stretch. The Huskies out-scored Southern, 22-6, during that span.
"It was unforced errors and miscalculations and being in the wrong spot, making the wrong pass, making the wrong read," Lowery said.
Southern stormed back, twice building a three-point lead in the final minutes of regulation. Newly renovated SIU Arena was so loud at one point, that it was difficult to hear the horn when the shot clock expired on a Northeastern field goal.
"Our crowd was great, and I appreciate them coming," Lowery said. "They really did a tremendous job motivating our kids."
Both teams had opportunities to win in in the final seconds of regulation, but both teams missed free throws. Fay split a pair of free throw attempts with 23 seconds remaining and Allen missed the front end of a one-and-one with three seconds to go.
Lowery used all 12 players on the active roster, including true freshman forward Davante Drinkard, who will not redshirt this season. Drinkard scored two points in four minutes.
Lowery is trying to incorporate five new players into the rotation, and rookies such as Mykel Cleveland, Mamadou Seck and Troy Long all played key minutes down the stretch.
"We have to grow with them," he said."We have new guys and we're not going to give up on them."
