Southern Illinois University
14-11 (6-9MVC)
Evansville
7-18 (1-14MVC)
Bench play lifts Men's Basketball past Evansville, 80-64
02/13/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2010
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Led by John Freeman and Kendal Brown-Surles, Southern Illinois received 36 points from its bench, and that helped dispose of Evansville, 80-64, Saturday afternoon.
Freeman recorded a career-high 15 points to lead all scorers, and Brown-Surles added nine points, six assists and three steals for the Salukis (14-11, 6-9), who have won four of their last five at home.
After a stretch of seven games in January when he didn't score a single point, Freeman has been hot lately, scoring 31 points in the last five contests.
"We wanted him to be aggressive and do what he can really do," said Saluki head coach Chris Lowery. "He's a driver -- a slasher, he gets offensive rebounds, and he just played hard today."
Likewise, Brown-Surles provided a spark of the bench. With starting point guard Kevin Dillard in foul trouble, the freshman from Evansville played a career-high 26 minutes and was active on both ends of the floor.
"He has made tremendous strides of running our club, and he's doing a good job defending," Lowery said. "As he's gotten more playing time, he's become more comfortable. He's not a freshman anymore."
The game was competitive throughout the first half with neither team leading by more than six points. Southern went inside to center Gene Teague early, and he delivered six of the team's first eight points. The Purple Aces (7-18, 1-14) began double-teaming the big freshman, and he adjusted by recording a career-high three assists.
"(Gene) can pass it whether his back is to the basket or he's facing up," Lowery said. "He's such a factor every time he catches. Every time we go to his side, that sucks the defense in on him, which allowed for Kendal to have some open shots and Kevin got some shots off.
Southern had a clear advantage in the paint between Teague and sophomore forward Anthony Booker, who added eight points off the bench. Booker keyed 15-6 run early in the second half with six-straight points -- the final bucket giving Southern a 52-37 lead with 13:44 remaining in the game.
"They are talented, and they are long, and they are both really good players," said Evansville head coach Marty Simmons. "They are unselfish. We tried to sandwich in there and take away the high-low pass, and we didn't get the result we were looking for."
Twice, Evansville cut the lead to seven points, but Dillard answered both times by hitting a 3-pointer to push the lead back to double digits. Dillard played just 18 minutes but scored 14 points -- his highest output in the last five games. Lowery appreciated the sophomore guard's attitude while on the bench.
"He didn't pout, he didn't cry, and he understood that we were still playing well," Lowery said. "He stayed locked-in."
Brown-Surles' six assists were a career high, and his most spectacular dish came in the final minute when he lofted the ball over a defender to Freeman for a one-handed jam.
"Coach told us that if they pressed us to make them pay for it," Brown-Surles said. "I missed (Freeman) on one earlier, and I told him I would get him the next time."
Southern shot 56 percent from the field, its second-straight game over the 50 percent mark. The Salukis also made 40 percent of their 3-point tries and are shooting 46 percent from downtown in their last four games.
"The key for us is that we're taking between 12-to-15 threes a game now, as opposed to 21-to-25," said Lowery.
Defensively, SIU held Evansville's top-two scorers -- Colt Ryan and James Haarsma -- to a combined 10 points. Ryan, who is a leading candidate for Missouri Valley Conference freshman-of-the-year honors, was 1-of-6 from the field.
"They're two guys that mean a lot to our team, but give Southern credit, they did an excellent job defensively," Simmons said.
The Salukis have had trouble protecting leads in the second half this season, and Lowery was pleased that his team kept the Purple Aces at bay.
"We told them not to think about what has happened in the past," he said. "We just did a good job of going to the end of the shot clock and making sure that we got the right shot that we wanted."
