Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
8-17, 5-9MVC
Missouri St.
15-11, 8-6MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri State | 31 | 25 | 56 |
| Southern Illinois | 25 | 29 | 54 |
Missouri State holds off Men's Basketball, 56-54
02/08/2012 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2012
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois missed two shots from close range in the waning seconds of Wednesday night's game, as Missouri State held on for a 56-54 win at SIU Arena.
The Salukis (8-17, 5-9) had a golden opportunity to send the contest to overtime, but Mamadou Seck's 10-foot jumper with three seconds remaining rimmed out, and teammate Jeff Early's tip-in attempt rolled off the rim as time expired.
The game had major ramifications in the Missouri Valley Conference standings where both teams have just four games remaining. The Bears (15-11, 8-6) won on the road for the eighth time this season and remained in a tie for third place with Illinois State.
Meanwhile, SIU is tied with Indiana State for eighth place, although a win would have moved the club into sixth. The top six teams in the conference standings receive a first-round bye at the league's tournament.
"This game was important," admitted Saluki head coach Chris Lowery. "With Bradley beating Indiana State, we knew that we needed to get this game."
After missing the last three games with a sprained ankle, MSU center Caleb Patterson came off the bench to score 18 points to lead the Bears, who have won six-straight games in the series. He did much of his damage while Saluki freshman center Dantiel Daniels sat on the bench with foul trouble.
"(Dantiel's) our defensive guy and our shot blocker, too, so we really struggled without him in the game," Lowery said.
Missouri State was only 3-for-12 shooting from 3-point range, but two of its makes came in the final six minutes -- one by Kyle Weems and one by Anthony Downing -- and both came after SIU switched to a zone defense.
"We had worked on (zone) a lot and we knew this was the time to use it, because they hadn't made a three up until that point," Lowery said. "That's where you roll the dice."
Weems' make at the 5:35 mark bounced high off the rim before falling through the net, and gave MSU a 51-48 lead. After a Seck layup cut the deficit to 51-50, Downing buried a deep triple just before the shot clock expired, making it 54-50 with 3:42 to go.
"When you're dealing with Southern and their pressure the whole game, then they throw a zone at you, you have to find a way to get rhythm against it," said Missouri State head coach Paul Lusk. "We got two big threes against it that helped us tremendously."
Two key turning points occurred in the first half, just when Southern was starting to gather momentum. Early, the team's most effective offensive weapon of late, picked up three fouls in a 39-second span. The first one came on a charging call that overturned an Early basket at 14:30. Then the junior guard was involved in a collision on a loose ball and was whistled for his second foul. While lying on the floor, he reacted angrily by slapping his hands on the court, which earned him a technical foul.
"Jeff getting that technical foul is composure and poise," Lowery said. "You can't have any emotional response in any way to an official making that call."
Later in the first half, with Southern leading, 24-23, Lusk switched to a zone defense. The strategy worked, as the Salukis went without a field goal in the last 6:42 of the half and trailed, 30-24, at intermission.
"I think when we changed to zone, that really stopped them," Lusk said.
As they have during the past two weeks, the Salukis continued to play solid defense, forcing 17 turnovers, while holding their fifth-straight opponent under 60 points.
"Southern has won three of their last four at home and they have absolutely been guarding," Lusk said. "It was a grind. Their pressure defensively continues to bother us."
Seck led SIU with 14 points, but he was the team's only player in double figures.
"We're still fighting," Lowery said. "We have resilient guys and the thing about tonight was that we lost our poise and composure."
The game was an emotional experience for Lusk. The former Saluki guard, who teamed with Lowery in the early '90s, made his first appearance in the arena as head coach.
"There is emotion in every game, but when you come to a place where you played and put in your blood, sweat, and tears, there is a little more emotion," he said. "It was great to see a lot of people. The main thing was to focus on the game, because I knew it was going to be tough the way (SIU) had been playing."
