Tuesday, November 5
Carbondale, Ill.
7 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
1-0,0-0MVC
76
vs
48
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Illinois Wesleyan
0-0,0-0CCIW
1
2
F
Ill. Wesleyan
18
30
48
Southern Ill.
36
40
76
Salukis open season with wire-to-wire win over IWU, 76-48
11/05/2019 | 9:36:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Five Salukis scored in double-figures en route to SIU's 76-48 season-opening win over Illinois Wesleyan on Tuesday at Banterra Center. Southern Illinois raced out to a 10-0 lead after less than three minutes and never trailed in the 28-point win. SIU alum Bryan Mullins earned his first career victory as a head coach.
SIU's defense led the way, holding the Titans to 20 percent shooting in the first half while SIU (1-0) raced out to a 36-18 lead at halftime. IWU started the second half by hitting four of its first five shots and crept with 11 at one point, but SIU responded with an 8-1 run to push the lead to 18 and were never seriously threatened. The Salukis held IWU to 30.1 percent shooting for the game.
"We played hard an competed," Mullins said. "Our defensive intensity was good again, and we shared the ball -- 19 assists and only 9 turnovers. I had challenged them before the game to have more than 15 assists. They're an unselfish group. We have really worked on getting to the paint and making good decisions."
Eric McGill (19), Barret Benson (career-high 15), Marcus Domask (12), Lance Jones (11), and Aaron Cook (10) all scored in double figures for SIU. The point guards -- Jones, a freshman, and Cook, a senior -- played great all-around games. Jones made his college debut with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Cook had 10 points, a career-high 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Cook's five assists move him just one shy of moving into the top-20 all-time at SIU in career assists as he embarks on his senior season.
The Salukis dominated the stat sheet, winning points off turnovers 18-to-7, points in the paint 42-to-28, and fast break points 20-to-2. But Wesleyan took the offensive rebounding battle 18-to-7 and won the overall rebounding battle by six. SIU's defense did well to hold IWU to only 13 second-chance points on its 18 offensive boards.
"The offensive rebounding is an issue we have to address. We guard hard, and we have to finish those possessions off," Mullins said. "When we did finish possessions off tonight, we were able to push the ball in transition and get easy baskets. That has to be us: We have to be able to guard, rebound it, and have AC and Eric push it, because those guards are fast in transition."
SIU's 11 newcomers (including redshirt freshman Sekou Dembele, who did not play last year) ranks fifth-most in the nation, and the slew of new faces impressed the crowd of 4,000+ in their first official game. In addition to Jones, freshman Marcus Domask played a game-high 32 minutes and was 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the 3-point line. Benson went 6-of-8 from the field and hit two of his three 3-pointers. It meant a win for Mullins in his first game as the head coach of his alma mater.
"He's one of the main reasons I came here," Benson said of Mullins. "He's someone I really care about and respect as a person. I'm glad to get that first win for him and get his second career started off right. When he came in the locker room, everyone was jumping around celebrating for him. No water yet, but he'll get that eventually."
SIU heads to the Sunshine Slam, a four-team round robin at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Fla., this weekend. SIU faces UTSA on Friday, Delaware on Saturday, and Oakland on Sunday -- opening the season with four games in the first six days before nearly a week off prior to San Francisco coming to Banterra Center on November 16. Friday's UTSA game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. That start time is subject to change if the prior game (Delaware vs. Oakland is slated to start at 5 p.m. at the same venue) runs long.
NOTES: Bryan Mullins is now 11-0 in season openers at the Division I level (4-0 as a player at SIU, 6-0 as a coach at Loyola, and 1-0 as a coach at SIU) ... Career highs: Cook in rebounds (7), Benson in points (15) ... McGill's 19 points tied his SIU high and were one shy of his career high (20 vs. Murray State while he played at SEMO) ... SIU improved to 73-33 all-time in season openers ... The Salukis have won 23-straight games when scoring 75+ points. SIU is 45-3 since the start of the 2015-16 season when scoring 75+ ... SIU was without graduate transfer Ronnie Suggs, who missed the game with a calf strain ... The game was a regular-season game for SIU, moving the Salukis to 1-0, but an exhibition game for Illinois Wesleyan, keeping them at 0-0.
SIU's defense led the way, holding the Titans to 20 percent shooting in the first half while SIU (1-0) raced out to a 36-18 lead at halftime. IWU started the second half by hitting four of its first five shots and crept with 11 at one point, but SIU responded with an 8-1 run to push the lead to 18 and were never seriously threatened. The Salukis held IWU to 30.1 percent shooting for the game.
"We played hard an competed," Mullins said. "Our defensive intensity was good again, and we shared the ball -- 19 assists and only 9 turnovers. I had challenged them before the game to have more than 15 assists. They're an unselfish group. We have really worked on getting to the paint and making good decisions."
Eric McGill (19), Barret Benson (career-high 15), Marcus Domask (12), Lance Jones (11), and Aaron Cook (10) all scored in double figures for SIU. The point guards -- Jones, a freshman, and Cook, a senior -- played great all-around games. Jones made his college debut with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Cook had 10 points, a career-high 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Cook's five assists move him just one shy of moving into the top-20 all-time at SIU in career assists as he embarks on his senior season.
The Salukis dominated the stat sheet, winning points off turnovers 18-to-7, points in the paint 42-to-28, and fast break points 20-to-2. But Wesleyan took the offensive rebounding battle 18-to-7 and won the overall rebounding battle by six. SIU's defense did well to hold IWU to only 13 second-chance points on its 18 offensive boards.
"The offensive rebounding is an issue we have to address. We guard hard, and we have to finish those possessions off," Mullins said. "When we did finish possessions off tonight, we were able to push the ball in transition and get easy baskets. That has to be us: We have to be able to guard, rebound it, and have AC and Eric push it, because those guards are fast in transition."
SIU's 11 newcomers (including redshirt freshman Sekou Dembele, who did not play last year) ranks fifth-most in the nation, and the slew of new faces impressed the crowd of 4,000+ in their first official game. In addition to Jones, freshman Marcus Domask played a game-high 32 minutes and was 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the 3-point line. Benson went 6-of-8 from the field and hit two of his three 3-pointers. It meant a win for Mullins in his first game as the head coach of his alma mater.
"He's one of the main reasons I came here," Benson said of Mullins. "He's someone I really care about and respect as a person. I'm glad to get that first win for him and get his second career started off right. When he came in the locker room, everyone was jumping around celebrating for him. No water yet, but he'll get that eventually."
SIU heads to the Sunshine Slam, a four-team round robin at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Fla., this weekend. SIU faces UTSA on Friday, Delaware on Saturday, and Oakland on Sunday -- opening the season with four games in the first six days before nearly a week off prior to San Francisco coming to Banterra Center on November 16. Friday's UTSA game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. That start time is subject to change if the prior game (Delaware vs. Oakland is slated to start at 5 p.m. at the same venue) runs long.
NOTES: Bryan Mullins is now 11-0 in season openers at the Division I level (4-0 as a player at SIU, 6-0 as a coach at Loyola, and 1-0 as a coach at SIU) ... Career highs: Cook in rebounds (7), Benson in points (15) ... McGill's 19 points tied his SIU high and were one shy of his career high (20 vs. Murray State while he played at SEMO) ... SIU improved to 73-33 all-time in season openers ... The Salukis have won 23-straight games when scoring 75+ points. SIU is 45-3 since the start of the 2015-16 season when scoring 75+ ... SIU was without graduate transfer Ronnie Suggs, who missed the game with a calf strain ... The game was a regular-season game for SIU, moving the Salukis to 1-0, but an exhibition game for Illinois Wesleyan, keeping them at 0-0.
Team Stats
IWU
SIU
FG%
.301
.492
3FG%
.087
.280
FT%
.400
.583
RB
47
41
TO
15
9
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
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/ Men's Basketball
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