Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
4-3
SIUE
1-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 45 | 34 | 79 |
| SIUE | 22 | 45 | 67 |
Men's Basketball sprints past SIUE, 79-67
12/03/2014 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southern Illinois sprinted to a 23-point halftime lead and cruised through the second half to beat sister-school SIUE on Wednesday night at the Vadalabene Center, 79-67.
Anthony Beane poured in 28 points to lead the Salukis (4-3), who improved to 7-0 all-time against the Cougars (1-4). He was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 20 points on a dazzling array of pull-up jumpers.
"He was unbelievable," said SIUE head coach Lennox Forrester. "He's so crafty and just a really good scorer. He had seven field goals in the first half and our team had six."
Playing in front of a near-capacity crowd of 3,508, SIUE struggled out of the gate -- missing their first seven shots from the field and falling behind, 7-1, four-and-half minutes into the game.
"I thought our guys were really nervous and had the jitters," Forrester said. "Guys missed shots that they normally make."
The margin remained in single digits, 26-17, until late in the first half when Beane ran off five-straight points to start a 19-5 Saluki run. That burst included 10 points by Beane, four by Jalen Pendleton, a 3-pointer by Tyler Smithpeters, and Jordan Caroline put an exclamation point on the half by slamming home a missed layup just before the horn sounded..
In a dominating performance, SIU led, 45-22, at the break and held the Cougars to 6-of-26 shooting from the field.
"I thought we guarded, I thought we rebounded, I thought we shared the basketball, and our offense was pretty efficient," said Saluki head coach Barry Hinson.
Beane's stat line in the first half was remarkable -- 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 2-of-3 from 3-point, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
"He has 84 points in the last three games and we don't win any of those unless he does that," Hinson said. "He forced one shot out of 18 shots tonight. I think that's pretty good."
SIUE didn't lay down in the second half. The Cougars applied full-court pressure and held Southern to 38 percent shooting, and they converted 15-of-19 of their own shots for a 79 percent clip.
"We played really good defense the first half and we didn't decide to guard any at all the second half," Hinson said. "With an immature ball club it's really hard to keep them focused."
Saluki freshman Chaz Glotta, who came into the game with no career points, displayed a deadly shooting eye in the second half. He scored nine of his 13 points in the second half on a trio of 3-pointers .
"I felt like he would play well coming back to his home area," Hinson said, "The reason Chaz Glotta is playing is because he's had a great attitude in practice. He doesn't pout, he's not soft, he asks constantly what can I do to get better?"
After the game, Hinson confirmed that the schools will extend the series two more years.
"It's a good regional rivalry and good for both sets of fans," he said. "It is a good, hearty, respectful rivalry."
