Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
10-14, 3-9MVC
Illinois St.
15-9, 7-5MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois State | 28 | 31 | 59 |
| Southern Illinois | 34 | 31 | 65 |
Men's Basketball upsets Illinois State, 65-59
02/07/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - After surrendering an 18-point lead, Southern Illinois made big defensive plays down the stretch, closing out the game on a 10-2 run to slip past Illinois State on Saturday, 65-59.
The Salukis (10-15, 3-9) snapped a four-game losing streak by holding ISU to 37 percent shooting and grabbing eight steals -- three of them coming in the final 1:18 -- to secure the victory. Anthony Beane had his best scoring night in more than two months with a 23-point outing. He had help from freshmen Deion Lavender and Jordan Caroline, who chipped in 15 and 12 points apiece.
The Redbirds (15-9, 7-5) overcame two huge deficits to take a 57-55 lead on a pair of free throws by Daishon Knight with 1:49 remaining. With the momentum seemingly on their side, they proceeded to commit four turnovers, though, in their final six possessions.
After Beane tied the game, 57-57, with a 12-foot jumper at the 1:49 mark, Jalen Pendleton stole the ball from Devaughn Akoon-Purcell and drove the length of the floor for a layup to put the Salukis back on top. Knight made a jumper to tie it, 59-59, with 1:09 to go, but Southern scored the final six points. First, Caroline was fouled away from the basket and made two free throws to put SIU up, 61-59. Then, Knight had his pocket picked by Lavender, which led to a breakaway layup for Beane to make it a four-point Saluki lead. Lavender got another steal and was fouled to put the finishing touches on the victory.
"I'm tired of everybody saying we can't close out games," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson, whose team is 0-6 in games decided by five points or less. "The majority of that is growing pains, but we needed a signature win."
Southern came out red-hot, building a 32-14 lead behind the 1-2 scoring punch of Beane and Lavender, who scored all but two of his points in the first half. They were 10-of-15 from the field combined in the first 20 minutes.
"(Beane) was the best player in the gym in the first half by a hundred," said ISU head coach Dan Muller, who described his team as sleepwalking. "We couldn't guard him. He was ready to go and got them off to a great start."
No victory this season has ever come easy for Southern, and this one would be no different. Illinois State closed the half on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to six points. Center Reggie Lynch scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half, and the Salukis had no answer for him inside.
"We're so small and Lynch gives us so many issues," Hinson said.
Lynch picked up his third and fourth fouls in the first minute of the second half, and that dramatically changed the complexion of the game.
"That just really killed us," Muller admitted. "We needed him on the floor with (backup center) John Jones out."
SIU led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but then it parked the offense in neutral, going without a field goal from the nine-minute mark until Beane's jumper that tied the game with 1:49 to go.
The Redbirds were only 6-of-18 from 3-point range, but Akoon-Purcell made three of them in the second half to rally his team, as ISU's bench out-scored Southern's, 28-6.
"We got no shot of playing a 40-minute game, no shot -- none," said Hinson. "Today, we were able to reestablish and get back."
Despite shooting poorly from the field and committing 16 turnovers in the game, Illinois State still had a chance at the end. It was no comfort to Muller.
"We got what we deserved in that game," he said. "We took today for granted and it cost us. They played great and a credit to them for being a lot more ready to play than us."
The Salukis remained tied with Bradley for ninth place, but have something to build on during the final three-and-half weeks of the regular season.
"We needed a game to beat somebody that's a lot better than us," Hinson said. "We needed to win a game that we were going to be the underdogs in on our own floor, and we were able to accomplish that."
