Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Missouri - St. Louis
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri-Saint Louis | 33 | 34 | 67 |
| Southern Illinois | 36 | 36 | 72 |
Men's Basketball scores game's final seven points to beat UMSL, 72-67
11/03/2016 | 10:52:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — In a surprisingly close game, Southern Illinois scored seven unanswered points in the final two minutes to beat back Division II Missouri-St. Louis, 72-67, in an exhibition contest on Thursday night.
With his team trailing, 67-65, SIU senior guard Leo Vincent buried a 3-pointer to put Southern up by one with 2:01 remaining. After UMSL missed a 3-pointer, Tyler Smithpeters delivered a beautiful lob pass to center Thik Bol for a two-hand slam. Bol then blocked a shot on the Tritons' next possession to seal the victory.
Coming off a 22-win season a year ago and with a deep senior class returning, Southern Illinois was picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Tonight, the Salukis played without injured point guard Mike Rodriguez, they got into severe foul trouble in the first half with all four bigs saddled with at least two fouls, and they struggled to make perimeter jump shots going 3-for-14 from behind the arc. UMSL out-rebounded SIU, 36-31.
"We have to shore up our defense, we have to shore up our rebounding, and our guards have to make shots," fifth-year head coach Barry Hinson said afterward. "We're not going to beat very many people if we don't shoot the basketball better. They'll shoot the ball better. These guys are 40 percent 3-point shooters."
UMSL is coming off a 12-18 season and was picked to finish fifth in the West Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. They were over-matched both in terms of size and athleticism, but they had SIU's front court on its heels in the first half, as starting forwards Sean O'Brien and Bol each picked up two quick fouls. Austin Weiher and Rudy Stradnieks came in in relief and also picked up a pair of fouls.
The Tritons built their biggest lead, 25-19, with 7:48 remaining before halftime. SIU countered with a 10-0 run during which the defense generated three steals and some easy open court looks for Sean Lloyd, Jonathan Wiley and Tyler Smithpeters. Lloyd, a 6-foot-5 sophomore who played sparingly a year ago, led the Salukis with 13 points, including 9-of-13 shooting from the free throw line. He also had three of SIU's 10 steals.
"We only had one guard tonight that was aggressive and wanted to get downhill, and that was Sean Lloyd," Hinson said.
The game featured 16 ties and 18 lead changes, with the biggest lead for either club just six points. Smithpeters hit a pull up jumper to tie the game, 62-62, with 5:15 to go, and after Lloyd got a steal, Smithpeters buried his only 3-pointer of the night to put SIU ahead, 65-62. Kobe Wands, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound freshman, answered for UMSL with a trey of his own at 4:20 to tie it up again. The Tritons took their final lead on a jumper by Elijah Watson with 2:49 remaining.
"(The close game) was a blessing in disguise, not to be too confident in ourselves," said Vincent, a senior guard for SIU. "Any team can beat us on any given night if we don't play the way we're supposed to. It was a little smack in the face, but let us know we have to continue to grind and get better every day."
Hinson believes his rotation could go 11 deep this season, but right now he's still trying to decipher how all the puzzle pieces fit together. There's an interesting blend of four seniors, two juco transfers, four sophomores and a true freshman.
"We're trying to figure out who we are," Hinson said. "It's going to take us a little while, but I like who we are and who we can be. I wish I could be Harry Potter, but I'm not. I've got no wizards, I've got no dragons, I've got no magic dust."
