Southern Illinois University
6-5
Northern Illinois
3-6
Men's Basketball locks down Northern Illinois, 61-49
12/22/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2010
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois held Xavier Silas -- the nation's leading scorer -- to 11 points on 3-of-19 shooting from the field, and coasted to a 61-49 win over Northern Illinois Wednesday night.
The Salukis (6-5) used five, different defenders to hound Silas and keep him 17 points below his season average. Mamadou Seck, a wiry 6-foot-8 forward, had the defensive assignment to start the game, but players such as Jack Crowder, John Freeman and Justin Bocot all took turns. None of them gave an inch.
"That's how we used to guard (an opponent's) best player -- frustrate them and make them take bad shots," said Saluki head coach Chris Lowery.
Silas entered the game shooting 54 percent from a field, a remarkable stat for a player who teams devise complicated schemes to stop. SIU's gameplan was rotate fresh bodies on Silas and make him work for every dribble, pass and shot.
"He had a guy draped on him all night," noted NIU head coach Ricardo Patton.
Silas missed 11 of his first 12 shots, with many of the attempts wildly off the mark.
"For them to win, he would have to have a big game, so all I tried to do is not let him catch the ball," said Seck, who with 12 points, outscored Silas.
The ebb and flow of the game clearly favored Southern Illinois, which wanted to take advantage of its superior size and dictate a rugged half-court battle. The Salukis pounded the ball inside to center Gene Teague, who recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds .
SIU continued its season-long dominance on the glass with a 42-33 rebounding advantage. They also ran waves of defenders at the Huskies (3-7) by rotating 11 different players throughout the game. The result was a 27.9 percent shooting performance by NIU.
"There was a great deal of contact out there," said Patton, whose team was averaging 73 points per game. "I like to say that's how the big boys play."
The turning point in the game was an 18-4 Saluki run midway through the first half that featured seven points by Teague and a pair of 3-pointers by Crowder, who finished with eight points and six rebounds.
The Salukis had a 36-25 halftime edge and were never threatened in the second half, leading by as many as 19. They shot 51.1 percent from the field on the evening.
Southern's bench was another bright spot, contributing 22 points, compared to just six for NIU.
If there was one flaw in Southern's game, it was the 19 turnovers -- 15 of which were committed by its starters.
"We can defend and we can rebound, but we have to take care of the ball much better," said Lowery.
The Salukis played much of the game without starting point guard Kendal Brown-Surles who logged a total of just 10 minutes after bruising his lower back on a driving lay up in the first half.
The game marked the debut of redshirt freshman guard Diamond Taylor, who transferred to SIU from Wisconsin last year. He scored seven points in only 12 minutes and displayed the quickness and athleticism that made him a top recruit coming out of high school.
"He's done all the things we've asked him to do to get to this point," Lowery said. "Now his first game is over and he's got to fit in and blend in."
Lowery used eight different players at the three guard positions and is still searching for the right combinations.
"I told our guards they will be the reason this year," he said "If we can continue to make strides as the season goes on, especially in valuing the ball, then we are going to have a chance."
The theme of the game was Military Appreciation Night and Operation Strong collected items to be sent to the U.S. troops. Saluki fans were generous with their donation, while Saluki Athletics pitched in more than 200 t-shirts.
