Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
2-3
UIC
1-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 35 | 32 | 67 |
| Illinois - Chicago | 21 | 39 | 60 |
Men's Basketball cruises past UIC, 67-60
11/23/2014 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
KENT, Ohio - Southern Illinois salvaged a win on Day Three at the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic, cruising past UIC, 67-60, behind a 27-point outing by Anthony Beane.
After averaging 48 points in losses to Kent State and Yale, the Salukis (2-3) kicked the offense up a notch against the Flames (1-4). SIU shot 50 percent from both the field and 3-point, never trailed in the contest, and led by as many as 21.
"The whole key to the game today was that we shared the basketball," said Hinson, whose team had a season-high 10 assists. "The ball never stuck, we weren't afraid to give it up, we weren't afraid to pass, we trusted our teammates."
Beane bounced back from rough outings in the tournament against Kent State and Yale to completely dominate today's action. The junior guard made 10-of-14 shots from the field, grabbed nine rebounds and snatched two steals.
"I thought it was his best game in a Saluki uniform," said Hinson. "He scored 27 points on 14 shots -- that's pretty good. He had 14 shots yesterday and scored nine."
Playing their third game in three days, both teams struggled to find their shooting touch at the beginning. SIU led, 6-5, five minutes into the game.
That's when the Salukis started to heat up and the Flames went ice cold. Southern went on a 15-0 run during the next seven minutes -- a burst that featured buckets by five different players. During the same span, UIC missed nine shots and committed two turnovers.
"We talked so much about first punch," Hinson said. "In every game we've won or played well, we started off well."
One of the keys to the fast start was when UIC's best player -- Jake Wiegand -- went to the bench with two fouls just two minutes into the game. He entered the game averaging 19 points, but tallied only six against SIU before fouling out in 19 minutes of action. Southern double-teamed the 6-foot-8 center in the post, and he made only 1-of-4 field goal attempts.
"We decided to double down with a guard every time he got the ball," Hinson explained. "When you take a guy who is getting 19 (points) and nine (rebounds) every night, and he only gets one basket. Credit to Sean (O'Brien), our big guys and the guards who doubled down."
The Salukis led by 14 at halftime and quickly surged to a 21-point margin behind some stellar play by Beane. En route to a 19-point second half, he drained a 3-ball to start the half, grabbed a steal that led to a fast-break dunk, and had a pair of nifty pull-up jumpers to put SIU up, 48-27, with 14:55 to go.
The final 10 minutes of the game were a free-wheeling affair, as UIC applied a full-court press to speed up the game. The Flames steadily chipped away at the lead, though they never came close enough to threaten the outcome.
In addition to Beane's performance, the Salukis were boosted by 12 points apiece from Sean O'Brien and freshman Deion Lavender. Lavender entered the game 1-for-7 from the field, but made 4-of-8 field goals on the afternoon and added four rebounds and two assists.
"That's the kid we thought could play like that," Hinson said. "He was more aggressive today both offensively and defensively."
Hinson said he held a lengthy meeting with the squad after last night's loss to Yale, in which he clearly spelled out his expectations.
"Today, they did exactly what we wanted them to do, what we asked them to do," Hinson said. "We demanded it. We met as a team last night and said you will not win this battle, I will win it. We are going to play the way we're going to play. I won. You saw today what happened."
