Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
9-8, 3-3MVC
Missouri St.
14-3, 6-0MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 24 | 27 | 51 |
| Missouri State | 35 | 29 | 64 |
Men's Basketball drops 64-51 decision at Missouri State
01/12/2011 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2011
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri State remained undefeated in conference play this season, fending off a second-half comeback by Southern Illinois to win 64-51 at JQH Arena Wednesday night.
The Bears (14-3, 6-0) led by 14 points early in the second half, but the Salukis (9-8, 3-3) made it interesting, cutting the deficit to four, 45-41, behind the relentless play of Mamadou Seck and some timely buckets by Carlton Fay.
Seck had another monster stat line, scoring 18 points and grabbing 17 rebounds -- his fifth double-double of the season. Fay, who was coming off a 31-point outing on Sunday against Illinois State, finished with 13 points.
Fay's 3-pointer with 11 minutes remaining in the game marked the end of SIU's comeback, however. The rally dissipated as SIU went nearly six minutes down the stretch without scoring. In nine possessions during that span, they committed five turnovers and missed four shots.
"You have to give (Missouri State) credit for keeping us at bay," said Saluki head coach Chris Lowery. "They fought the storm."
The Bears played mostly a seven-man rotation, and fatigue seemed to set in during the second half as they shot 34 percent, a far cry from their 53 percent first-half mark.
What Missouri State did most effectively was get to the free throw line. They were 22-of-28, compared to Southern's 5-of-7.
MSU had a decisive advantage inside, where big men Will Creekmore and Caleb Patterson combined to score 23 points.
"I think those guys can score in the blocks with anybody in this league," said Bears' head coach Cuonzo Martin. "Whenever you have production in the blocks, with the shooters we have...you have the necessary pieces to be successful."
Southern Illinois played without its starting center, Gene Teague, who continues to struggle with an ankle injury. In his place, freshman Davante Drinkard was no match for MSU's front line. Drinkard committed two quick fouls and played just 12 minutes.
"The game was bigger than him today," said Lowery. "We needed to have older guys with more experience in there."
Seck moved from the wing into the front court and was a force on the offensive glass, where he pulled down eight of his rebounds.
"We did a great job on the offensive boards, but we missed so many layups in there that it really didn't affect the game like it should have," said Lowery, whose team shot 37 percent from the field and missed its share of easy ones, especially early.
"We just couldn't overcome the first half," he said.
Southern held Missouri State's leading scorer, Kyle Weems, to 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, but the senior forward still impacted the game.
"We use him a lot as a decoy for other guys to get shots," Martin said. "He's not a guy who complains about shots or pouts about it."
Martin said he was concerned about playing the team's sixth game in 15 days, especially coming off a big win at Wichita State Sunday.
"We were on such an emotional high beating Wichita State and to have to find the energy to compete at a physical level -- it's not like you can coast up and down the court and score a lot of points (against SIU)," he said.
