Saturday, November 9
Kissimmee, Fla.
2 p.m. CT
Southern Illinois University
2-1,0-0MVC
54
vs
56
Delaware
3-0,0-0CAA
1
2
F
Delaware
34
22
56
Southern Ill.
24
30
54
Photo by: T.H. Weber
Second-half charge comes up short vs. Delaware
11/09/2019 | 4:28:00 | Men's Basketball
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -The SIU men's basketball team overcame a 13-point deficit to take the lead late in the game, but Delaware closed the game on a 6-1 run to hand SIU its first loss of the season, 56-54.
"I'm proud of our guys and the way we responded in the second half," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "The first half, we didn't play to our personality, or to our identity. We lacked a little energy. Guys were probably still thinking about last night a little bit. Delaware played really well. We took some bad shots and had some turnovers in the first half that I think affected our defense. In the second half, we challenged them, and they responded. We held them to 22 points and put ourselves in a position to win the game. That's all you can ask for. We have to be able to close those games out."
The Salukis (2-1), which hadn't trailed in two games this year, fell behind early. Delaware (3-0) raced out to an early lead, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Nate Darling; and when the Salukis pulled to a 15-15 tie midway through the first half, Delaware responded with a 15-2 run to grab a 13-point lead. SIU fought back late in the first half, but Darling hit another 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to give the Blue Hens a 34-24 lead at the break.
Aaron Cook Jr. sparked the second-half comeback for SIU, scoring 12 of his 16 points after halftime. Another key to the comeback -- the Salukis had been outrebounded in each game, but won the glass 20-to-12 in the second half today. The Salukis trailed 47-37 with 11 minutes to go but went on a 16-3 run to take a 53-50 lead with 1:21 to go. Cook scored nine of those 16 points in the run. SIU held preseason All-CAA forward Kevin Anderson in check all night, until he got loose for a pair of layups in the game's final 90 seconds to give Delaware a 54-53 lead it would not relinquish.
"It teaches us how to start games," Mullins said. "We've been a good team starting games; but the first half, we didn't play the way we're supposed to play. That put us in a big hole. It was good for us to fight back and get the lead. We need to get stops. They scored 4-straight points in the last minute-and-a-half. We have to be able to close-out games."
SIU's defense was outstanding once again. After holding each of its first two opponents under 31% shooting, SIU held Delaware to 38.9% shooting for the game. The defense was especially big in the second half, limiting the Blue Hens to 34.8% shooting and 2-of-11 (18.2%) from the 3-point line. Darling and preseason All-CAA guard Ryan Allen went 12-for-23 for 35 points. SIU held the rest of the team to 9-of-31 and 21 points.
UP NEXT: SIU closes out the Sunshine Slam with a Noon CT game against Oakland tomorrow at Silver Spurs Arena.
NOTES: SIU held Delaware to 38.9% shooting, marking the first time since 1989-90 that SIU held its first three opponents of the season under 40% from the field ... Aaron Cook passed Rick Shipley for 13th on SIU's career steals list. Cook now has 126 career steals, five shy of tying Armon Fletcher (2016-19) for 12th on the all-time list (131).
"I'm proud of our guys and the way we responded in the second half," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "The first half, we didn't play to our personality, or to our identity. We lacked a little energy. Guys were probably still thinking about last night a little bit. Delaware played really well. We took some bad shots and had some turnovers in the first half that I think affected our defense. In the second half, we challenged them, and they responded. We held them to 22 points and put ourselves in a position to win the game. That's all you can ask for. We have to be able to close those games out."
The Salukis (2-1), which hadn't trailed in two games this year, fell behind early. Delaware (3-0) raced out to an early lead, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Nate Darling; and when the Salukis pulled to a 15-15 tie midway through the first half, Delaware responded with a 15-2 run to grab a 13-point lead. SIU fought back late in the first half, but Darling hit another 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to give the Blue Hens a 34-24 lead at the break.
Aaron Cook Jr. sparked the second-half comeback for SIU, scoring 12 of his 16 points after halftime. Another key to the comeback -- the Salukis had been outrebounded in each game, but won the glass 20-to-12 in the second half today. The Salukis trailed 47-37 with 11 minutes to go but went on a 16-3 run to take a 53-50 lead with 1:21 to go. Cook scored nine of those 16 points in the run. SIU held preseason All-CAA forward Kevin Anderson in check all night, until he got loose for a pair of layups in the game's final 90 seconds to give Delaware a 54-53 lead it would not relinquish.
"It teaches us how to start games," Mullins said. "We've been a good team starting games; but the first half, we didn't play the way we're supposed to play. That put us in a big hole. It was good for us to fight back and get the lead. We need to get stops. They scored 4-straight points in the last minute-and-a-half. We have to be able to close-out games."
SIU's defense was outstanding once again. After holding each of its first two opponents under 31% shooting, SIU held Delaware to 38.9% shooting for the game. The defense was especially big in the second half, limiting the Blue Hens to 34.8% shooting and 2-of-11 (18.2%) from the 3-point line. Darling and preseason All-CAA guard Ryan Allen went 12-for-23 for 35 points. SIU held the rest of the team to 9-of-31 and 21 points.
UP NEXT: SIU closes out the Sunshine Slam with a Noon CT game against Oakland tomorrow at Silver Spurs Arena.
NOTES: SIU held Delaware to 38.9% shooting, marking the first time since 1989-90 that SIU held its first three opponents of the season under 40% from the field ... Aaron Cook passed Rick Shipley for 13th on SIU's career steals list. Cook now has 126 career steals, five shy of tying Armon Fletcher (2016-19) for 12th on the all-time list (131).
Team Stats
UD
SIU
FG%
.389
.400
3FG%
.250
.294
FT%
.571
.750
RB
32
36
TO
11
13
STL
8
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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