Southern Illinois University
7-5
New Orleans
3-4
New Orleans stuns Men's Basketball, 56-52
12/19/2014 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - New Orleans picked up its first win of the season against a Division I opponent, stunning Southern Illinois on Friday night, 56-52.
The Privateers (3-4), who transitioned to Division I themselves only two years ago, rallied from an 11-point deficit to claim the victory. Nate Frye delivered the shot of the game for UNO, stealing the ball from Anthony Beane and then seconds later draining a 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining that put his team up, 54-50.
"We were able to get a win against a team and a conference which is I think one of the greatest basketball leagues in the country," said New Orleans head coach Mark Slessinger. "It's a great win for the university, for the athletic department and the administration."
The Salukis (7-5) appeared to have the contest in hand early in the second half following a 3-pointer by Beane and a tip-in basket by Sean O'Brien that put SIU ahead, 36-25. New Orleans countered, however, with a 10-0 run that featured a pair of 3-pointers by 5-foot-8 guard Christavious Gill.
The final 13 minutes of the game were a see-saw battle with neither team able to build more than a three-point cushion. Both teams were careless with the ball at times, with UNO committing 19 turnovers and SIU handing it over 17 times. Southern's turnovers resulted in 26 points for its opponent.
SIU had its best chance to take control of the game when it had possession leading by two, 48-46, with 4:44 remaining. With the shot clock winding down, K.C Goodwin missed an 18-foot jumper, but Sean O'Brien grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it to Deion Lavender, who missed a 3-pointer. New Orleans proceeded to score five-straight points and seize the lead, 51-48, with 2:22 to go and never relinquished it.
"I looked at my team (during a timeout), and in Southern Illinois we all know this saying, we looked like deer in the headlights down the stretch," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "We only had two guys who wanted the ball in their hands at the end, and that was Jordan (Caroline) and Anthony."
Trailing, 54-52, with eight seconds left in the game, the Salukis had a chance to tie or take the lead. They cleared the right side of the court for Beane, but his 3-point try with a second to go was off the mark. It wasn't the shot Hinson was looking for.
"When you have fear running in you at the time, you just do uncharacteristic things, and the last thing I told him was get to the paint and finish it with a shot fake," Hinson explained. "We knew they weren't going to foul him. I'll put the ball in his hands again. The play worked great. We had a lane wide open and we settled for the three."
Southern played a zone defense for much of the game, and it seemed to catch the Privateers off guard in the first half. They solved it in the second half, behind the guard play of Gill and Treven Broils, and converted 52 percent of their shots. Both players split team-high honors with 11 points.
The Salukis struggled at times to run their offense, leading to multiple shot-clock violations and hurried passes that were intercepted.
"I'm disappointed that we played scared," Hinson said. "I knew this game was coming. I knew this style of game was coming, but I thought it would happen in conference."
SIU converted just 2-of-12 from 3-point range on the night.
"I told one of our players -- we can't do anymore," Hinson recounted. "You have to catch it and shoot it. We can't get the ball in a better spot or a better place."
To date, the Salukis have beaten six Division I opponents whose combined record against Division I teams is 4-51. With Murray State looming on Monday and conference play beginning in two weeks, Hinson said it won't get any easier for his young team.
"Hopefully, this will be a learning lesson for us, because my gosh, we have no time -- we have the boys coming to town now," he said. "Everybody we play from this point on will be favored over us."
