Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
10-16, 3-10MVC
Loyola
15-10, 5-8MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 34 | 28 | 62 |
| Loyola Chicago | 33 | 33 | 66 |
Loyola tops Men's Basketball, 66-62
02/11/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CHICAGO, Ill. - In a frenetic game that featured 16 lead changes and 12 ties, Loyola finally put away Southern Illinois at the end, 66-62, on Wednesday night at the Gentile Center.
The Ramblers (15-10, 5-8) picked up a much-needed win, after losing six of their previous seven games, and they did it without star guard Milton Doyle, who remains sidelined with an ankle injury. Loyola is tied with Drake for sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings and the coveted No. 6 slot at the tournament. The top six seeds avoid the Thursday play-in game.
The Salukis (10-16, 3-10) fell two games behind Drake and Loyola and are tied for last with Bradley and Missouri State. SIU would also be the odd team out in any tiebreaker scenario due to its weaker non-conference strength of schedule.
Southern took its last lead of the game, 56-55, when Anthony Beane intercepted an Earl Peterson pass at the 6:43 mark and took it the length of the floor for a soaring one-hand jam. Loyola countered with a 6-0 run that featured a couple of buckets by forward Montel James, who dominated the paint all night and finished with a game-high 19 points.
"James just whipped our butts," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "He just went at us and we didn't do a good job of guarding him at all."
The Salukis came as close as 62-61 on a driving layup by Jalen Pendleton with 3:10 remaining, but neither team made a field goal the rest of the way, and Loyola sealed the victory with four free throws.
"It was a classic Valley game -- both teams were physical and grinded it out," said Loyola head coach Porter Moser, who beat SIU for the first time in 12 tries. "No one left anything by chance -- both teams played their hearts out."
Loyola was determined not to let Beane -- SIU's deadeye shooting guard -- beat them. Every time the 6-foot-2 junior came off a screen, he was double-teamed. He had just two points at halftime and needed 15 shots to score 16 points in the game.
"He is as good as anybody in our league at creating his own shot," Moser said. "He got a couple on us. He's just such a good player you have to focus on him all the time."
Unlike previous games this season, Southern had an answer to the Beane double-teams. At least they did in the first half when Deion Lavender scored 14 of his career-high 17 points and made four of his career-best five 3-pointers.
"Because of their attention to Anthony it freed up Deion," Hinson said. "As he continues to get stronger and quicker and learn how to guard, I think he's going to be a special player in this league."
Fellow freshman Jordan Caroline had 14 points and 11 rebounds, though Hinson lamented his defense on James.
"Wow -- are those two freshmen going to be great players in this league," Moser noted.
Lavender drained a trey at the buzzer to give SIU a 34-33 halftime lead, and the game was nip-and-tuck the whole way with neither team leading by more than six points. Loyola shot 55 percent from the field to SIU's 45 percent. The Salukis hit only 37 percent in the second half, though. Both teams were an identical 7-of-14 from 3-point in the game.
Hinson said his team isn't getting enough from veterans like Sean O'Brien, Jalen Pendleton and Tyler Smithpeters, who combined to go 3-for-11 from the field.
"I think our veterans are really roller-coastering on us," he said. "We can't rely on two freshmen to carry us at this time of year. We have to rely on some veterans to help us out, and tonight with the exception of Anthony, there wasn't anybody to help us."
The Salukis play three of their final five games at home, beginning with Saturday's game against Evansville at 3:05 p.m.
