Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
6-13, 3-5MVC
Drake
12-7, 5-3MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 31 | 32 | 12 | 75 |
| Southern Illinois | 31 | 32 | 5 | 68 |
Drake outlasts Men's Basketball in overtime, 75-68
01/18/2012 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2012
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - In a game that featured 14 ties and 18 lead changes, Drake pulled away in overtime to beat Southern Illinois, 75-68, on Wednesday night at SIU Arena.
The Bulldogs (12-7, 5-3), winners of four-straight games, sent the contest to OT with a pair of free throws by Rayvonte Rice with 30 seconds left in regulation, to knot the score, 63-63.
The Salukis (6-13, 3-5) had a golden opportunity to win it on their last possession, but had to settle for a desperation 3-point shot by Kendal Brown-Surles that was off the mark at the buzzer, sending the contest to an extra session.
SIU head coach Chris Lowery said he did not call a timeout on the final possession to prevent Drake from switching its defense. With the clock under 10 seconds, the team's top 3-point shooter, T.J. Lindsay, had the ball in the left corner but did not pull the trigger. Instead, he returned the ball to Brown-Surles, who had little choice but to toss up a prayer.
"Our best shooter was wide open and didn't shoot," Lowery said. "They were face-guarding Mamadou (Seck), Kendal made a penetration kick, and they didn't even go out on T.J., and he threw it right back to Kendal."
Throughout the first 40 minutes, neither team led by more than five points and every possession was hotly contested. The Bulldogs turned their offense over to Rice and Ben Simons, and both players delivered in the clutch, with 18 and 20 points, respectively. Rice, a stocky 6-foot-4 guard, had seven of his team's 12 points in overtime. He was only 6-of-18 from the field in the game, but his impact was felt in other ways, as he grabbed seven rebounds and five steals.
"(Rayvonte) got in foul trouble in the first half and has had some games where he has done that," said Drake coach Mark Phelps. "We had several chances to go south, and I felt like he kept us going and he made plays at both ends."
The Salukis felt they had an advantage in the front court, and they clearly did whenever center Dantiel Daniels touched the ball. He missed just one field goal and scored 15 points, but fouled out at the beginning of overtime.
"He was our guy in the paint, and when that went away, it forced Mamadou to play a different spot, and we struggled from that point on," Lowery said.
Seck entered the night as the team's leading scorer, but he was slightly off his game, converting 2-of-10 shots, turning the ball over four times and finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"We needed Mamadou to make a couple more plays," Lowery said. "He's our go-to guy and gets a double-double, and we're talking about him doing more than that, but it's what you expect from your really good guys."
Guard Jeff Early gave the Salukis a boost of energy with a career-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. He was active on the glass with seven offensive rebounds. SIU had 18 offensive boards to Drake's nine, but six of the Bulldogs' rebounds came either late in the game or in overtime.
"We really had trouble keeping them off the boards," said Phelps. "But it is the timing of when you get the offensive rebounds. At the end of the game and overtime, it was very critical and we got them."
Another decisive factor was bench play. Southern's reserves have averaged 34 points per game in conference games so far, but tonight they were out-scored by Drake's bench, 23-5. Aaron Hawley came in to score 16 points for the Bulldogs.
Drake was picked to finish seventh in the conference, but it is now tied for third at two games over .500. The Bulldogs have beaten SIU six-straight times.
"Give Southern a lot of credit, they have some really good young players that are going to be very good," Phelps said. "I told our team that this is a very good team, and I leave here even more impressed with what they are doing."
