Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
7-10, 0-4MVC
Indiana St.
8-8, 4-0MVC
Indiana State rallies to beat Men's Basketball, 59-56
01/10/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Devonte Brown drained a 3-pointer from NBA range with two seconds remaining to lift Indiana State to a 59-56 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday in front of a stunned crowd at SIU Arena.
After posting a 4-8 non-conference record, the Sycamores (8-8, 4-0) are suddenly the hottest team in the Missouri Valley Conference. They were especially hot during the final five minutes of today's game, making their final seven shots from the field to rally from an eight-point deficit. Brown scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and buried three-straight 3-pointers in the last 2:40 of the contest.
Brown's game-winner came after SIU's Anthony Beane knocked down an 18-foot jumper to knot the game, 56-56, with 11 seconds to go. Instead of calling a timeout to set up a final shot, Brown brought the ball up the floor, used a crossover move to shake free from Beane, and launched a spot-on trey.
"I'd never let a kid...I don't have the confidence in one of our kids pulling up on the dribble from an NBA (distance)," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson, shaking his head. "That surprised the heck out of me. He made a great shot. We thought we were going to overtime when he pulled up."
The Salukis (7-10, 0-4), losers of six-straight games, had plenty of chances to salt away the victory. They led by as many as 14 points in the first half, and 31-20 at halftime, but the offense sputtered to start the second half, allowing ISU to hang around.
Southern mustered just six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and during a pivotal six-minute span, was outscored, 10-2. That allowed Indiana State to cut the deficit to 38-34 with 10:17 remaining, and suddenly it was anybody's ballgame. Hinson tried to jumpstart the offense by inserting sharpshooting guards Tyler Smithpeters and Chaz Glotta to no avail.
"We have a lineup that can stop, defend and rebound -- but they can't score," Hinson lamented. "We have a lineup that can score, but for the most part they can't defend and rebound."
He called it "a conundrum."
Beane -- the team's best player -- showed signs of coming out of his recent shooting funk by scoring nine of his 11 points in the second half. Still, his stat line read 5-of-14 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point. As a team, the Salukis were 3-for-12 from 3-point in the game and are a frigid 11-of-54 during conference play.
"I heard (ISU head coach) Greg (Lansing) on the bench yelling back up!," Hinson said. "Nobody's guarding us right now."
The Sycamores looked lethargic offensively in the first half, converting just 6-of-20 shots, but Hinson said he knew a second-half comeback was in the offing.
"I anticipated this," he said. "I thought we would relax. We're not to the level of maturity yet that we can understand the importance of finishing off a ballgame for 40 minutes."
ISU attacked the basket in the second half, drew 13 fouls, and shot 54 percent from the field. In addition to Brown's big night, forwards Justin Gant and Khristian Smith chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
"I thought our defense in the second half was just awful," Hinson said. "All they did was shoot layups or get fouled. The intensity level we had in the first half we left in the locker room."
Indiana State won for just the fourth time in their last 34 trips to SIU Arena. Even their good teams have struggled to play well here, Lansing noted.
"It's been a difficult place for us to play," he said. "I am just really excited for the team. We were very lucky to come away with a win. We understand, we know that. We fought like crazy and found a way to overcome ourselves."
There were bright spots in the loss for the Salukis. They decisively won the rebound battle, 40-27. Making only his second start of the season, center Bola Olaniyan scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds -- seven on the offensive end. It just wasn't enough to overcome 10 second-half turnovers and the pressure of a close game. Southern is 0-5 in games decided by five points or less.
"I think our kids, at times, are scared to death," Hinson acknowledged.
Southern hasn't won a game in almost a month, and things won't get any easier with a trip to nationally ranked Wichita State on Wednesday.
"I knew this was coming, but I didn't think it would be of this magnitude," Hinson said. "Maybe my expectations were a little out of whack."
