Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball holds off Indianapolis, 65-58
11/06/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2010
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois relied on its defense to overcome a sluggish first half and beat Indianapolis, 65-58, in the final exhibition tuneup of the preseason.
The Salukis trailed by three points at halftime -- a half in which they committed a dozen turnovers and allowed the Greyhounds to shoot 61 percent from the field.
Head coach Chris Lowery said his team may have taken its opponent lightly, but they learned their lesson.
"We didn't respect them," he said. "We knew that they lost at Purdue. They showed up and we didn't. I let it happen because I wanted them to see what it's like when you don't come ready to play. Anybody can beat you."
The Greyhounds used a much smaller and quicker lineup to their advantage in the first half. With only one player taller than 6-foot-5, they cashed in SIU's turnovers in the form of frequent fast-break buckets.
"Gene (Teague) and Carlton (Fay) struggled really bad getting back in transition the first half," said Lowery of his starting center and power forward. "We aren't going to ever see a front court that small again."
Lowery resisted the temptation to match Indy's small lineup.
"The players kept telling us, 'coach we need to go small,'" he explained. "I said, 'No. You guys need to learn how to play through adversity.' We are going to play big. We are going to keep Gene and Carlton and always have two bigs in."
The Salukis' size advantage paid dividends in the second half. Against constant double-teaming, Teague scored nine of his team-high 13 points. Fay added 12 points and 10 rebounds on the night. In addition, SIU finished with a massive 39-22 advantage on the boards.
Southen held Indianapolis to 6-of-23 shooting (26 percent) from the field in the second half, but didn't pull away until the game's final six minutes. Troy Long made a 3-pointer to put SIU up, 55-52, and that was the beginning of a decisive 9-0 run.
Indianapolis crept back to within three points, 61-58, on a pair of free throws by Darius Adams with 1:20 remaining. He led the Greyhounds with 22 points.
"Adams is a good player in a lot of leagues in the country," Lowery said. "He is very fast, he can score, but when it came down to the clutch, he had two in the last six minutes. Kendal (Brown-Surles) did a great job on him down the stretch."
Brown-Surles, who started at point guard for SIU, scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Long finally put the game away, 63-58, on a pull-up jumper with 12 seconds remaining.
"Troy made some big ones down the stretch, and he is a shot maker," Lowery said. "We know he can fling them in."
Southern Illinois won both of its preseason games and now turns its focus to next Saturday's season-opener at Illinois. Separated by only 200 miles, the two schools have met on the hardwood only twice before.
