Sunday, January 20
Carbondale, Ill.
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
54
vs
57
Bradley
Bradley slips past Salukis, 57-54
01/20/2019 | 7:35:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois men's basketball team dropped a 57-54 game to Bradley on Sunday afternoon at SIU Arena. SIU led nearly the entire game, but Bradley closed the game on a 16-7 run to turn a six-point deficit into a three-point victory.
The Salukis (9-10, 2-4 MVC) dropped their fourth-straight game after starting the Missouri Valley Conference season 2-0. Bradley (9-10, 1-5 MVC), on the other hand, rebounded from an 0-5 start to league play.
"That locker room, needless to say, is crushed," SIU head coach Barry Hinson said. "We're all struggling. We get it. I have to find a way to instill some confidence in these guys right now. We didn't play with a lot of confidence today. We're pressing."
Darrell Brown had a game-high 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting for Bradley, and Elijah Childs had 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Brown came up especially huge down the stretch. His assist with 3:21 left tied the game, 49-49. Then, with under two minutes to play and the Braves leading by one, Brown barely beat the shot clock on a 3-pointer to give BU a two-possession lead. When SIU cut the deficit to two points, the Salukis smothered Brown, yet he still managed to knock down a 15-foot jumper at the end of the shot clock with no breathing room.
Bradley did miss a free throw after that to give the Salukis two chances at potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds, but neither fell, and SIU, a preseason top-three team in the MVC, suffered a four-game losing streak for the first time since 2016. The last two of those losses were particularly painful--by a combined four points at Illinois State and today vs. Bradly, two in-state schools who were also picked with SIU in the top half of the league. And Southern's defense was outstanding in both games, limiting the Redbirds and Braves each to less than 37 percent shooting.
"I know everyone is frustrated," Hinson said. "I know this is not where we thought we would be, but if you want to blame someone, blame me. Don't blame these young men. These young men are doing everything that they can do right now. I believe in these guys. If the wrath is coming, and I get it; I've been through this before, please, do it to me. These young men don't deserve it. They're giving us everything they have in practice. Their attitudes have been great. I have to do a better job, and I'm going to continue to try to do that."
SIU's main inconsistency most of the season has been turnovers, but the Salukis lost only nine turnovers today, their second-best total of the year. Bradley instead got extra possessions with 13 offensive rebounds, which led to a 9-rebound advantage for the Braves. BU scored 10 second-chance points.
"We had great value of the basketball today, great possession," Hinson said. "I think our achilles today was offensive rebounding. They had too many offensive rebounds, and they scored on put backs."
Three Salukis scored in double figures--Armon Fletcher (13 points), Aaron Cook (12 points) and Eric McGill (11 points)--but Thik Bol provided a great spark off the bench with eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in only 18 minutes.
"I thought Thik helped us a lot today," Hinson said. "He helped us a lot defensively. He did a great job of altering shots."
SIU is back at SIU Arena on Wednesday night against Northern Iowa. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Salukis (9-10, 2-4 MVC) dropped their fourth-straight game after starting the Missouri Valley Conference season 2-0. Bradley (9-10, 1-5 MVC), on the other hand, rebounded from an 0-5 start to league play.
"That locker room, needless to say, is crushed," SIU head coach Barry Hinson said. "We're all struggling. We get it. I have to find a way to instill some confidence in these guys right now. We didn't play with a lot of confidence today. We're pressing."
Darrell Brown had a game-high 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting for Bradley, and Elijah Childs had 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Brown came up especially huge down the stretch. His assist with 3:21 left tied the game, 49-49. Then, with under two minutes to play and the Braves leading by one, Brown barely beat the shot clock on a 3-pointer to give BU a two-possession lead. When SIU cut the deficit to two points, the Salukis smothered Brown, yet he still managed to knock down a 15-foot jumper at the end of the shot clock with no breathing room.
Bradley did miss a free throw after that to give the Salukis two chances at potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds, but neither fell, and SIU, a preseason top-three team in the MVC, suffered a four-game losing streak for the first time since 2016. The last two of those losses were particularly painful--by a combined four points at Illinois State and today vs. Bradly, two in-state schools who were also picked with SIU in the top half of the league. And Southern's defense was outstanding in both games, limiting the Redbirds and Braves each to less than 37 percent shooting.
"I know everyone is frustrated," Hinson said. "I know this is not where we thought we would be, but if you want to blame someone, blame me. Don't blame these young men. These young men are doing everything that they can do right now. I believe in these guys. If the wrath is coming, and I get it; I've been through this before, please, do it to me. These young men don't deserve it. They're giving us everything they have in practice. Their attitudes have been great. I have to do a better job, and I'm going to continue to try to do that."
SIU's main inconsistency most of the season has been turnovers, but the Salukis lost only nine turnovers today, their second-best total of the year. Bradley instead got extra possessions with 13 offensive rebounds, which led to a 9-rebound advantage for the Braves. BU scored 10 second-chance points.
"We had great value of the basketball today, great possession," Hinson said. "I think our achilles today was offensive rebounding. They had too many offensive rebounds, and they scored on put backs."
Three Salukis scored in double figures--Armon Fletcher (13 points), Aaron Cook (12 points) and Eric McGill (11 points)--but Thik Bol provided a great spark off the bench with eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in only 18 minutes.
"I thought Thik helped us a lot today," Hinson said. "He helped us a lot defensively. He did a great job of altering shots."
SIU is back at SIU Arena on Wednesday night against Northern Iowa. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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