Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
7-9, 0-3MVC
Northern Iowa
13-2, 2-1MVC
Northern Iowa stifles Men's Basketball, 55-39
01/07/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Senior center Seth Tuttle scored 24 points to lead No. 23 Northern Iowa to a 55-39 victory over Southern Illinois on Wednesday night in a defensive grinder.
UNI's three-man starting back court missed all 10 of its shots and didn't score, but the Panthers (13-2, 2-1), got a big lift not just from Tuttle, but also Nate Buss, who came off the bench to pour in 15 points.
The Salukis (7-9, 0-3) lost their fifth-straight game and are in the midst of an unprecedented scoring slump. For the first time in the modern era of the program, they have failed to score more than 50 points in three-straight games. The last time it happened at Southern was in 1947, back when the team nickname was Maroons. SIU's 39 points were the second-fewest behind only a 36-point outing at Bradley in 1981. Southern's three-game total of 133 points is also a low-water mark in modern times.
"Our goal tonight was to shoot a better percentage than the temperature at Cedar Falls, Iowa," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson, whose team connected on just 13-of-44 shots. "We achieved that barely, and that's not including the wind chill."
A big part of the problem has been point production from the back court. Star guard Anthony Beane has been slumping. He was 0-for-10 with one point tonight, but he had no help from back court mates, Deion Lavender and Chaz Glotta, who combined to go 0-for-8.
"In the last two games (Deion's) shot four sliders that didn't even hit the backboard," Hinson joked. "I think he could play for the (St. Louis) Cardinals."
Southern used its sixth-different lineup variation of the season, trying to match the size of Northern Iowa inside by starting Ibby Djimde at center and moving forward Sean O'Brien to the wing. Djimde scored only two points, but reserve forward Bola Olaniyan chipped in 10, and he was joined in double figures by Jordan Caroline (13) and O'Brien (10).
For much of the game, SIU's defense kept the Salukis within striking distance. They held the Panthers to 39 percent shooting in the first half and trailed, 25-18, at halftime.
Tuttle went to work in the second half and touched the ball on virtually every possession. Whether posting up or putting the ball on the floor, he was almost unstoppable making 9-of-12 shots from the field in the game.
"Any time you can get him an angle on the block or get him an advantage so he can rip it and drive it from the top of the floor, he's really effective," said UNI head coach Ben Jacobson.
The Panthers led by double digits for the final 15 minutes of the game, and Tuttle's conventional three-point play with 4:51 to go made it 50-35 and was the icing on the cake.
Southern's front court was competitive, battling to a 31-31 draw in rebounds, but the guards made just one field goal -- Jalen Pendleton's 3-pointer with 6:41 remaining.
"My dad will tell me tonight when I call him, `Son, your team couldn't hit a bull in the butt with a bass fiddle,'" Hinson said "That's right. That's the quote of the night."
The Salukis did manage to snap a lengthy 3-point shooting drought, but it took a trey by Caroline with the clock winding down in the first half to end a streak of 20-straight misses from outside the arc.
"The guys that all hit threes tonight are the guys we don't want to shoot threes, quite frankly," Hinson noted. "We're going to set some more records offensively this year -- I'm just preparing you."
During SIU's five-game losing streak, Beane is shooting 16-of-66 (24 percent). Teams have been guarding Beane with taller players, and tonight was no exception with UNI's 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Jeremy Morgan assigned to Beane.
"(Jeremy) did a good job of chasing him around and making it tough," Jacobson said. "I hope Jeremy's finding out he can be one of the better defenders in the league."
Hinson said his team executed the game plan by making it a low-possession, grinding contest, but shots never fell.
"I love John Wooden -- he could have come here tonight and it would not have made a difference," Hinson said. "We just couldn't score."
