Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saturday, February 4
Chicago, IL
1 PM
Southern Illinois University
14-11 (7-5MVC)
67
at
61
Loyola
16-9 (6-6MVC)
1
2
F
Southern Illinois
28
39
67
Loyola Chicago
28
33
61
Photo by: Tom Weber
"Monster" game by Sean O'Brien lifts Men's Basketball past Loyola, 67-61
02/04/2017 | 5:25:00 | Men's Basketball
CHICAGO, Ill. — Southern Illinois earned a leg up in the battle for third place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a gutsy 67-61 road win over Loyola on Saturday.
The Salukis (14-11, 7-5) got another spectacular performance from senior forward Sean O'Brien, who had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. He was 9-of-11 shooting from the field and made huge plays seemingly every time Loyola threatened the lead.
"Sean O'Brien has my vote for an All-League player," declared Loyola coach Porter Moser. "He dominated the game. We had no answer for him. He scored off the dribble, he scored in the post, he had unbelievable passes. We couldn't guard him one-on-one, so we doubled him and he found open guys. He had a monster game."
Neither team shot the ball well during a first half that ended tied, 28-28. That changed for the Salukis in the second half, as they connected on 13-of-20 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 by O'Brien. Loyola tried three different defenders on O'Brien, they tried double-teaming him, nothing slowed him down, as he notched his seventh double-double of the season.
"I wish you could be in the huddle, because we're saying Sean has to touch the ball every time down the floor," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "He's a point guard playing the 4-5-3-2 spot. It's one of the best individual performances I've ever seen. He absolutely, single-handedly, by himself, controlled the game. Not only on the offensive end, what a great job he did defensively."
To be sure, defense played a key part in the win. The Ramblers (16-9, 6-6) entered the game shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point. Today they were held to 42 percent shooting, including just 5-of-18 from downtown. Usually deadeye shooters, their starting backcourt of Clayton Custer, Ben Richardson and Milton Doyle was 1-for-10 from three.
"Our guys are so confident in those guys shooting threes and we just didn't make them tonight," Moser said. "Combine that with O'Brien dominating the game and we got beat."
Although Illinois State and Wichita State have separated from the pack in the MVC this season, the battle for third place is red hot. That created an intense atmosphere at Gentile Arena, where the loyalty of the crowd of 2,315 fans was evenly divided. When Southern hit a big shot, chants of "SIU, SIU" filled the building. Loyola's fans answered in kind.
The stage was set for an exciting finish when Clayton Custer tied the game, 43-43, with 8:27 to go. Senior point guard Mike Rodriguez countered with a deep, step-back 3-pointer late in the shot clock for the Salukis.
"I kind of look for that moment," Rodriguez said. "I love it. I love that feeling when you hit a shot and it means so much."
With is team up, 49-47, with 6:03 to go, O'Brien made three-straight clutch plays on offense. First, he wheeled, dealed and made a pull-up jumper. Then he drew the defense in and found Armon Fletcher for an open 3-pointer. Finally, he turned and buried a short baseline jumper that pushed the lead to 56-51 with 4:16 to go.
"Just having him on the court helps me so much because I don't have to waste as much energy, because he's also a point guard in the post," said Rodriguez, who had 14 points and two assists.
For a finishing flourish, Rodriguez drove the lane with 1:22 remaining and lobbed to Thik Bol for a dunk to make it 60-55. Southern converted 7-of-8 free throws in the final 50 seconds to seal the win.
"Answer the bell — they did," Hinson said. "The kids executed down the stretch for us, just exactly how we wanted them to."
The Salukis (14-11, 7-5) got another spectacular performance from senior forward Sean O'Brien, who had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. He was 9-of-11 shooting from the field and made huge plays seemingly every time Loyola threatened the lead.
"Sean O'Brien has my vote for an All-League player," declared Loyola coach Porter Moser. "He dominated the game. We had no answer for him. He scored off the dribble, he scored in the post, he had unbelievable passes. We couldn't guard him one-on-one, so we doubled him and he found open guys. He had a monster game."
Neither team shot the ball well during a first half that ended tied, 28-28. That changed for the Salukis in the second half, as they connected on 13-of-20 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 by O'Brien. Loyola tried three different defenders on O'Brien, they tried double-teaming him, nothing slowed him down, as he notched his seventh double-double of the season.
"I wish you could be in the huddle, because we're saying Sean has to touch the ball every time down the floor," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "He's a point guard playing the 4-5-3-2 spot. It's one of the best individual performances I've ever seen. He absolutely, single-handedly, by himself, controlled the game. Not only on the offensive end, what a great job he did defensively."
To be sure, defense played a key part in the win. The Ramblers (16-9, 6-6) entered the game shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point. Today they were held to 42 percent shooting, including just 5-of-18 from downtown. Usually deadeye shooters, their starting backcourt of Clayton Custer, Ben Richardson and Milton Doyle was 1-for-10 from three.
"Our guys are so confident in those guys shooting threes and we just didn't make them tonight," Moser said. "Combine that with O'Brien dominating the game and we got beat."
Although Illinois State and Wichita State have separated from the pack in the MVC this season, the battle for third place is red hot. That created an intense atmosphere at Gentile Arena, where the loyalty of the crowd of 2,315 fans was evenly divided. When Southern hit a big shot, chants of "SIU, SIU" filled the building. Loyola's fans answered in kind.
The stage was set for an exciting finish when Clayton Custer tied the game, 43-43, with 8:27 to go. Senior point guard Mike Rodriguez countered with a deep, step-back 3-pointer late in the shot clock for the Salukis.
"I kind of look for that moment," Rodriguez said. "I love it. I love that feeling when you hit a shot and it means so much."
With is team up, 49-47, with 6:03 to go, O'Brien made three-straight clutch plays on offense. First, he wheeled, dealed and made a pull-up jumper. Then he drew the defense in and found Armon Fletcher for an open 3-pointer. Finally, he turned and buried a short baseline jumper that pushed the lead to 56-51 with 4:16 to go.
"Just having him on the court helps me so much because I don't have to waste as much energy, because he's also a point guard in the post," said Rodriguez, who had 14 points and two assists.
For a finishing flourish, Rodriguez drove the lane with 1:22 remaining and lobbed to Thik Bol for a dunk to make it 60-55. Southern converted 7-of-8 free throws in the final 50 seconds to seal the win.
"Answer the bell — they did," Hinson said. "The kids executed down the stretch for us, just exactly how we wanted them to."
Team Stats
SIU
LUC
FG%
.500
.418
3FG%
.417
.278
FT%
.667
.714
RB
30
33
TO
8
10
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
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