Southern Illinois University
11-8, 4-2MVC
Evansville
10-9, 1-5MVC
Mike Rodriguez big second half lifts Men's Basketball past Evansville, 73-61
01/14/2017 | 6:59:00 | Men's Basketball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The bench kept Southern Illinois afloat in the first half and point guard Mike Rodriguez carried the offense in the second, as SIU pulled away late to beat Evansville, 73-61, on Saturday at the Ford Center.
The Salukis (11-8, 4-2) snapped a four-game losing streak against the Purple Aces (10-9, 1-5), who lost their fourth-straight on the season.
Evansville had SIU on its heels early, leading by as many as nine points, as sophomore guard Ryan Taylor had the hot hand, making his first five shots from the field. The Aces were up, 23-15, with five minutes to go in the first half when Southern made its move, and it was the reserves who provided the spark.
Forward Jonathan Wiley started an 11-0 Saluki run with a driving layup, Austin Weiher hit a 3-pointer and made a pair of free throws, and Aaron Cook made two free throws, to give the Salukis a 33-31 halftime lead. SIU's bench scored all 17 of its points in the first half — Weiher (7), Wiley (6) and Cook (4).
"We wouldn't have been in the game if it hadn't been for them," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "They came in and gave us a spark and did what we asked them to do."
After scoring just one point in the first half, Rodriguez took over the game in the second half to add 19 points for his game-high total of 20. He has been the team's go-to, clutch scorer on the road in the last two games.
There was a moment midway through the second half when Evansville appeared to regain the momentum. Dru Smith hit a 3-pointer to put the Purple Aces back on top, 47-45. Southern answered with a game-changing 8-0 run that began with a conventional three-point play by Sean Lloyd that not only added three points to SIU's total but also sent UE's most effective post player — David Howard — to the bench with his fourth foul.
Rodriguez scored the next five points for SIU, including a trey that made it 53-47 with 8:07 to go. Evansville came as close as five points, but Rodriguez hit the game's biggest shot, a deep 3-pointer that gave Southern its first double-digit lead, 61-51, with 4:29 left.
"Mike Rodriguez played like the point guard we know can play in the second half," Hinson said. "When Mike gets us into offense, gets us playing under control, and when he plays under control, we're pretty good. When he's sped up, we're pretty bad."
Hinson said the key to the victory actually came on the defensive side of the ball for SIU. Evansville has two big-time scoring guards in Taylor and Jaylon Brown. Although the duo combined for 38 points, they were mostly held in check in the second half by a triangle-and-two defense, in which the Salukis guarded the pair man-to-man, while defending the rest of Evansville's players with zone.
"I thought it won the game for us," Hinson said. "We put that in three weeks ago in preparation for this game. We didn't want to go to it right off the bat."
Other than Taylor and Brown, the rest of Evansville's team was 8-for-30. They were often funneled into the paint where Saluki center Thik Bol was waiting. The 6-foot-8 juco transfer tied a career best with six blocks. He was also energized on offense with 12 points, including five dunks.
"The screeners got good looks (against the triangle-and-two) and we need guys to knock those shots in," said Evansville coach Marty Simmons. "When a team's in a defense like that, and you're scoring against it, it gets them out of it. Just getting open shots isn't good enough. You have to cash them in."
There were 47 fouls between the two teams and the volume of whistles impacted both club's playing rotations. Howard and Smith both fouled out for Evansville, while Sean O'Brien played just 20 minutes for SIU, while picking up four fouls.
SIU cashed in from the free throw line, converting 22-of-29, while the Purple Aces had an uncharacteristically poor shooting effort from the line, making just 17-of-30.
Evansville has one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the league, but today the Aces turned it over 19 times. Sean Lloyd, who scored 14 points, had three steals on the afternoon, including two thefts that led to easy layups.
"Twenty-three points off our turnovers — we're not beating anybody turning the ball over like that," Simmons said. "A lot of these were self-inflicted."
