Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
1-3
Yale
3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yale | 27 | 26 | 53 |
| Southern Illinois | 23 | 23 | 46 |
Yale hands Men's Basketball a 53-46 loss
11/22/2014 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
KENT, Ohio - In a defensive tug-of-war, Yale held on to beat Southern Illinois, 53-46, on Day Two of the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic on Saturday.
The Salukis (1-3), facing an Ivy League squad for the first time since playing Columbia 31 years ago, could get little done offensively other than Sean O'Brien's career-high 19 points. He made 8-of-13 shots, but the rest of the team was 11-for-40 from the field.
For the second-straight night, SIU's best player -- Anthony Beane -- was held in check. He finished with nine points on 4-of-12 shooting and had a career-high six turnovers.
"We're playing really selfish basketball right now -- our offense is really killing us," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson, whose team was held to its lowest point total since scoring 45 at Creighton on Feb. 19, 2013.
The Bulldogs (3-1) led by as many as 11 in the first half, as SIU could muster just nine points during the first 14 minutes of the game. Southern's two big men -- Jordan Caroline and Bola Olaniyan -- went 0-for-7 from the field in the half. Southern was able to cut the deficit to four at halftime, 27-23, when Beane banked in a jumper at the buzzer.
The Salukis rallied to take a brief two-point lead, 32-30, midway through the second half when Beane drained a jumper at the 12:31 mark. The lead was short-lived, though, as Yale went on a 9-0 run in which forward Justin Sears scored seven points. He finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Southern never came closer than four points the rest of the way.
SIU shot 35 percent from the field and was 2-of-11 from 3-point. In all four of Southern's games this year, the team has totaled fewer assists than turnovers. That trend continued tonight with six assists and 13 miscues.
"The thing I'm most concerned with right now is we won't pass the basketball," Hinson said. "The ball sticks in our hands, and everybody's trying to hit a home run."
O'Brien reached double figures in scoring for the fourth-straight time. The 6-foot-6 sophomore forward scored using a variety of post moves.
"We probably ought to play through Sean because right now, he's consistently our best player," Hinson noted.
Hinson said his team "guarded decent" in holding Yale to 36 percent shooting, but it wasn't enough to overcome the offensive deficiencies.
"We're going to have to do some stuff to get some guys' attention," he said. "They're going to figure this out, and if they don't, they're going to sit on the bench. I'm going to win this battle -- they're not."
The Salukis play UIC at noon CT tomorrow in the final game of the tournament.
"Thank goodness it's not happening in January," Hinson declared. "I'm not Aaron Rogers, but we won't panic. We'll get this thing fixed."
