Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
9-14 (2-8)
Missouri St.
9-13 (3-7)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 19 | 27 | 46 |
| Missouri State | 23 | 29 | 52 |
Missouri State defense stymies Men's Basketball, 52-46
01/31/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - It wasn't a Rembrandt, but Missouri State will gladly take it. MSU snapped a seven-game losing streak, beating Southern Illinois, 52-46, on Saturday night at JQH Arena and winning for the first time since leading scorer Marcus Marshall left the program several weeks ago.
The Bears (9-13, 3-7) did it with gritty defense and a balanced scoring attack in which all nine players made at least one field goal. Their starting guards made just 2-of-14 shots from the field, but led by Gavin Thurman's 11 points, Missouri State's bench out-scored Southern, 29-6.
"Dorrian (Williams) is 1-for-6 and Austin (Ruder) is 1-for-8 -- and we still win the game," remarked MSU head coach Paul Lusk. "I think that's a positive. Scoring points can be difficult for us. That's why we have to get stops, we have to rebound, and we have to value the basketball."
The Salukis (9-14, 2-8) left their offense in Carbondale. They made just 14 baskets on the night and five of them came in the final five minutes when the outcome was already decided. SIU has lost three straight and 10 of their last 12 games.
"There's been a lot made in your media about how you guys can't score, but you haven't seen us play," SIU head coach Barry Hinson said in his postgame press conference. "Now you can say that somebody else is worse at it than y'all are."
Southern scored only 19 points in the first half and trailed, 45-30, with seven minutes to go in the contest. For the game, SIU shot 33 percent, and only a late flurry of baskets made the score respectable. Jordan Caroline and Tyler Smithpeters led the Salukis with 14 points apiece, but six other players left a goose egg on the box score.
"We're not going to win any games with those numbers," Hinson observed.
The same storyline keeps repeating itself for the Salukis, in which star guard Anthony Beane is hounded by defenders from baseline to baseline. He scored 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting. In 10 conference games, he's connected on just 30 percent of his shots.
"He is a great player, but he's at the top of everyone's scouting report," Lusk explained. "You know he's in the (practice) gym, you know he's working. It will work out for him. I wouldn't want to be the team where he finds it. He's going to find it when you work that hard."
The Salukis trailed by four at halftime but went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal during one stretch in the second half. The Bears took their biggest lead, 43-27, on a dunk by Loomis Gerring with 8:49 remaining.
Beane finally broke the dry spell by hitting a trey with 4:45 to go in the game to cut the deficit to 47-36. It was his only field goal in the second half.
"We're not going to win many games when our best player can't make a shot," Hinson said. "The sad part of it is, it would be a lot easier for him if somebody else would step up and make a shot."
Saluki forward Sean O'Brien continues to struggle, going 0-for-6, and guard Jalen Pendleton was 0-for-4. Big men Bola Olaniyan and Ibby Djimde didn't score.
"People are saying, why don't you just sit Anthony and play somebody else?" Hinson said. "I would do that if there was somebody else that could make a shot."
Lusk improved to 7-2 all-time against his alma mater, while Hinson fell to 2-5 against the team he coached for nine years. The Bears moved into a three-way tie for sixth place with Drake and Loyola. SIU is tied for last with Bradley.
"We're doing everything we can do to try to get this thing corrected," Hinson said. "The majority of it is psychological. I'm going to stick with what I said all along, I don't think this is a talent issue."
