Southern Illinois University
2-3
Purdue
5-0
Purdue rallies to top Men's Basketball, 79-60
11/26/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2010
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Southern Illinois played a terrific half of defense against Purdue, putting a scare into the No. 8 team in the country. However, the Boilermakers rallied behind seniors E'Twuan Moore and JaJuan Johnson for a 79-60 victory Friday night in the Chicago Invitational Classic.
The Salukis (2-3) limited the Boilermakers (5-0) to just one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the game, including 11-straight misses during one stretch. Head coach Matt Painter said SIU was the best defensive team his squad has seen this year.
"As a coach, you can talk all you want and show it to them on film, but until you see it first-hand, you kind of go through some struggles," said Purdue head coach Matt Painter. "We were just kind of hoping we could break out of it."
Purdue finally did get its offense in gear. Trailing, 26-21, with five minutes remaining in the half, the Boilermakers ended the first half on a 15-2 run.
"We didn't panic as a team," Painter said. "We talked about taking what they give us. You don't just have to make the next pass, you have to make a couple passes."
Southern's downfall was turnovers. Even though they out-shot Purdue, 47 percent to 30 percent in the half, they committed a whopping 14 turnovers, resulting in 11 fewer shot attempts. The majority of the whistles were traveling calls.
"I can't explain it," Saluki head coach Chris Lowery said. "That's the most travels I've ever seen. If we did it, we did it. We have to watch film and correct it."
The Salukis held Wooden Award candidate E'Twaun Moore to 2-of-10 shooting in the first half, but the senior guard was unstoppable in the second half, converting all eight field goals to finish with 31 points. He and All-Big Ten center JaJuan Johnson combined to score 31 of Purdue's first 34 points of the half.
"They know who is supposed to shoot, and they don't deviate from that," Lowery admired. "Those seniors -- they went exclusively to those two guys."
SIU hung around in the second half thanks to the play of Justin Bocot, who scored all but two of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes. His driving layup with 8:51 remaining in the contest cut the Purdue lead to 57-47.
However, Moore and Johnson ignited a 13-5 Purdue run to finally put the Salukis away. Moore drained a pair of 3-point bombs, while Johnson hit a couple of jaw-dropping fade away jumpers over stout defense by Carlton Fay.
"We know what our bread and butter is," Painter said. "We have to get them the basketball."
Added Lowery, "I just told our guys, 'Shake his hand -- that's a tough shot. Once (Moore) got going -- driving and creating and making plays. Those two guys are killers."
Southern could never establish its leading scorer, Gene Teague, in the paint. The 6-foot-9 sophomore committed a career-high seven turnovers, repeatedly being whistled for traveling.
"Our ability to bottle-up Gene Teague -- that's what we really wanted to do," Painter said. "We didn't feel he could be a factor. When he gets it going, they are a different offensive team."
Lowery said Teague will benefit from playing against a seasoned veteran like Johnson.
"(Gene's) a sophomore, and we have to keep that in perspective, too, going against a really good player," Lowery said. "Against a wiry guy like that, you have to go right away and just go through his chest. They double-teamed him. They showed a lot of respect for him."
Painter, who coached the Salukis to a conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2005, said he likes SIU's team.
"I like their grit, I like their toughness," he said. "With that many new guys out there at one time, you're going to have some breakdowns. Come February, they are going to be very good in the Missouri Valley."
The Salukis will play Wright State on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the consolation game of the CIC.
