Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
18-3 (7-1MVC)
Missouri St.
8-12 (4-4MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 45 | 35 | 80 |
| Missouri State | 31 | 34 | 65 |
Men's Basketball rolls Missouri State, 80-65
01/24/2016 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Southern Illinois extended the nation's longest road-winning streak to eight games, handily beating Missouri State, 80-65, at JQH Arena on Sunday.
The Salukis (18-3, 7-1) blew this one open early and then coasted to victory in the second half. They put on an offensive clinic in the first half -- shooting 60 percent from the field, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range. They trailed only once and led by as many as 23 points in their most dominating performance of the conference season so far.
Long a team whose offense was Anthony Beane or bust, Southern has developed some scoring weapons around its star guard. Bola Olaniyan led SIU with 17 points, while Tyler Smithpeters (13), Mike Rodriguez (13), Leo Vincent (11) and Sean O'Brien (10) all scored in double figures. Beane had just 8 points on 1-of-7 shooting, but he dished out a career-high six assists.
"He turned down shots in the first half to find guys," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "He had open looks but made some heckuva plays. He had eight points but six assists, so that's sitting at 20 points. That's the way I look at it."
The Bears (8-12, 4-4), played most of the game without senior center Camyn Boone, one of the league's top big men, who hurt his ankle in Wednesday night's win at Drake. SIU exploited his absence inside as Olaniyan recorded a career high on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.
"We weren't very good defensively and they did some good things against our zone, but when you're a guy down physically like Cam Boone, then everyone else has to be completely, completely engaged," said MSU head coach Paul Lusk. "I don't think we had that today, but give credit to Southern. We struggled across the board."
Up by six points midway through the first half, Southern used an 11-2 run to seize control of the game. It started with a 3-pointer by Vincent, included a layup by Sean O'Brien off a beautiful feed from Beane, and a pair of buckets by backup center Ibby Djimde.
SIU is one of just four Division I teams still unbeaten on the road, joining James Madison (7-0), Providence (5-0) and Saint Joseph's (5-0).
"We like to play better on the road than we do at home for whatever reason," Hinson said. "I think it says a lot about our mental toughness. I think it says our kids have bought in and they've bonded."
Hinson won for the first time in four tries at Missouri State, where he coached nine seasons from 2000-08, and improved to 4-5 overall against the Bears.
"The first two years I came back here it was rather difficult," Hinson said. "But now, I'm coming back home. I wanted to win because we haven't won here, and I wanted to win because it keeps us in the race for a Missouri Valley Conference championship."
Combined with Evansville's loss at Indiana State, Southern moved into sole possession of second place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, one game behind league-leading and unbeaten Wichita State. The Purple Aces visit Carbondale on Thursday.
"We're all hunky-dory right now and singing Kumbaya, but we have a lot of games left," Hinson said. "But we've put ourselves in a position to go after a Valley championship."
