Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
8-1
North Texas
2-6
Men's Basketball routs North Texas, 95-63
12/05/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
DENTON, Texas - Southern Illinois guard Anthony Beane nearly beat North Texas all by himself. The senior scored 25 of his team's first 50 points on Saturday as SIU clobbered UNT, 95-63. Beane knocked down his first seven shots of the game, made 11-of-14 on the night, and finished with 27 points.
The Salukis (8-1) probably would have won without him, though. They blistered the nets shooting 68 percent from the field, including 10-of-15 from 3-point range. It was the third-best shooting performance in school history. Eleven other players scored besides Beane, including Mike Rodriguez (12) and Sean O'Brien (10) in double figures.
The game was a mismatch from the opening tip. Southern jumped out to a 16-6 lead after Beane drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing. North Texas came as close as five points, 19-14, midway through the half, but Beane answered with another trey. Soon the rout was on. Beane scored 19 first-half points and started an 8-0 run to end the half with a thunderous one-hand dunk off a back-door cut.
"(Beane) scored a lot of his (points) one-on-one. He just broke us down, dribble penetrate, pull-up," said North Texas coach Tony Benford. "He's one of those guys who is tough to guard when he has the ball in his hands. You have to do a better job of keeping the ball out of his hands."
The Salukis led by 17 at halftime and didn't take their foot off the gas pedal in the second half, pushing the margin to 22 points, 50-28, on a jumper by Beane with 16:31 to go. The 6-foot-2 sharpshooter made only one more field goal the rest of the game, as he deferred his own scoring opportunities to his teammates.
"He had 14 shots and scored 27 points," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "That's probably the most efficient output I've seen in a long time in basketball. He didn't force anything. All of his shots were good. I thought it was much more impressive than (either) of his 32-point (career-high) performances."
Just about everyone in Southern's lineup made a positive contribution on offense. Point guard Mike Rodriguez had 12 points and three assists, Sean O'Brien had 10 points and four assists, while Tyler Smithpeters made all three of his 3-point attempts. Leo Vincent and Austin Weiher came off the bench to score seven each.
"We're playing with a lot of confidence right now," Hinson said. "Our guys are confident in each other, and I think that really showed today. You can't shoot the ball like we did today and not have success."
The Mean Green (2-6) lost their sixth-straight game and have yet to beat a Division I opponent this season. They shot 46 percent from the field but were only 2-of-18 from 3-point range.
"I've never been part of a skid like this in my whole career, as a player or assistant," said Benford. "We have to figure it out."
Rather than let a big lead slip away in the second half, Southern ended the game with its biggest margin of the night, a whopping 32-point lead after Bobbie Mannie made a free throw with 16 seconds to go. It marked the eighth-largest margin of victory in a road game in school history.
"It was really important to us that we finish the game and play a complete game," Hinson said. "We challenged our guys. I think when we do that, I think we can compete with people."
In an odd scheduling quirk, the teams will meet again for a rematch a week from today in Carbondale.
