Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
1-2
Missouri Southern
2-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri Southern State University | 20 | 44 | 64 |
| Southern Illinois | 36 | 49 | 85 |
Men's Basketball exploits size advantage in 85-64 win over Missouri Southern State
11/16/2016 | 10:30:00 | Men's Basketball
The Salukis (1-2) picked up their first win of the season behind a dominant front-court performance by forwards Sean O'Brien (19 points, 10 rebounds), Thik Bol (10 points, 17 rebounds) and Austin Weiher (12 points). Southern fully exploited its size advantage, crushing the Lions on the boards, 44-25, and dominating points in the paint, 50-18.
The blowout victory was a welcome relief after a disjointed first half, in which each team committed an identical 16 fouls and 12 turnovers. Southern led, 36-20, at the break, because it held the Lions to 6-of-26 shooting from the field, including 1-of-11 from 3-point.
In the second half, Missouri Southern cut the deficit to 11 on three separate occasions — the final time coming on a 3-pointer by CJ Carr to make it 51-40 with 13:31 to go. That's when foul trouble and a thin bench finally caught up to the Lions, and SIU reeled off its monster 27-2 run.
Bol grabbed a whopping nine rebounds during the run, and the Salukis pushed the ball in the open floor for a plethora of easy layups. It was a strong outing for the 6-foot-8 junior college transfer. Bol had three dunks in the first half and showed shooting range by making a baseline jumper.
"I thought we got a glimpse tonight of Thik Bol," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "That's a pretty good line — three blocks, 17 rebounds, 10 points. And he can shoot from 15-17 feet. His best shot is his dunk. I think we've all figured that out."
Guard Armon Fletcher had seven of his 14 points during the run, and Mike Rodriguez finished off the fast break with back-to-back buckets. He was the fifth player to score in double figures for Southern with 11 points.
"We can score — that's not our problem," Hinson said. "Our problem is, can we get our butts down in a defensive stance and can we block out?"
After a frigid first half of shooting, MSSU made 11-of-17 from 3-point range in the second half. For the season, Southern's opponents are converting from downtown at a 50 percent clip.
"(Missouri Southern State's) as good as some Division I teams that we'll play," Hinson noted. "When you've got a water bug (CJ Carr) like that and two guys that can shoot on the perimeter, that's a pretty big deal."
Defensively, the Lions aggressively trapped ball screens and forced the Salukis into a season-high 19 turnovers. Rodriguez had five of them.
"This was the worst game of turning the basketball over by our guards," Hinson said. "That's an anomaly for Mike Rodriguez to have five turnovers."
Hinson was satisfied with the win, saying he hadn't slept since the team's lopsided loss to Arkansas on Monday night.
"It's like when you call that girl and ask her out on a date, and she says 'yes' and it was the first time you asked her, and you don't know 50-50, maybe 60-40 she's not going to say yes, and she says 'yes,'" he joked. "That's how (this win) feels. It's a good feeling."
