Monday, December 30
Terre Haute, Ind.
7:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
6-8,0-1MVC
56
at
68
Indiana State
8-4,1-0MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
28
28
56
Indiana St.
36
32
68
Shorthanded Salukis fall in MVC opener at Indiana State
12/30/2019 | 9:41:00 | Men's Basketball
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The SIU men's basketball program dropped its MVC opener 68-56 at Indiana State on Monday night at Hulman Center.Â
SIU (6-8, 0-1 MVC) was playing against the odds. Star senior guards Aaron Cook Jr. (hand injury) and Eric McGill (flu) both missed the game and were replaced in the starting lineup by true freshmen. The Salukis have 11 newcomers, the fifth-most in the nation; and without Cook and McGill, the only player who played that had MVC experience was Ronnie Suggs Jr., who played at Bradley three years ago. On top of that, the Salukis were on the road against a red-hot Indiana State team (8-4, 1-0 MVC) that won its eighth-straight game and is rated No. 2 in the league in the NET.Â
"We caught a break tonight; we understand that, with them being shorthanded without some good players," Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing said. "We knew they would come in here and fight like crazy, and the rest of their guys really stepped up well. We had to play awfully hard. We knew it coming in. Every possession in The Valley is going to be a fistfight."
Southern's young backcourt -- true freshmen Lance Jones and Trent Brown started in lieu of seniors Cook and McGill -- were going against arguably the league's top backcourt tandem -- preseason All-Conference picks Jordan Barnes and Tyreke Key. Barnes and Key combined for 29 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals; and the Sycamores rolled to its eighth-straight win after starting the year 0-4.Â
SIU head coach Bryan Mullins declined to use SIU's shorthanded backcourt as an excuse in the loss.Â
"It's next-man up," Mullins said. "It's an impact (losing McGill for the game) -- obviously he's a senior guard, and he's a big part of our team -- but we had enough in our locker room to be successful today, and we just didn't get it done."
The Sycamores got off to hot starts in both halves to control the game. They went up 12-4 in the first 3:30 of the first half and started the second half on a 9-2 run. But the undermanned Salukis battled, getting within four points in the first half. After Indiana State got ahead by 17 early in the second half, SIU battled back to get within 10 at the 8:08 mark before a 9-0 Indiana State run put the game away. SIU remained winless in true road games this year, and Indiana State remained undefeated at home.
"The toughest thing to do in this league is to win on the road," Mullins said. "Indiana State is playing at a high level right now. Their guards are playing extremely well together. We have to be more disciplined in order to have success. We need to get back to practice and back to work before a big game coming up on Saturday."
Barret Benson was outstanding for SIU with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Marcus Domask had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists and started the game 6-of-9 from the field. With the game decided, SIU gave its inexperienced roster a chance to grow, with only freshmen and sophomores playing the game's final six minutes.Â
"It's a great league. There are great players in this league, and they're extremely well coached," Mullins said. "Everything matters. Every possession matters. That's where we need to get better in terms of executing on both sides of the ball."
UP NEXT: The Salukis host Illinois State on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Banterra Center.Â
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SIU (6-8, 0-1 MVC) was playing against the odds. Star senior guards Aaron Cook Jr. (hand injury) and Eric McGill (flu) both missed the game and were replaced in the starting lineup by true freshmen. The Salukis have 11 newcomers, the fifth-most in the nation; and without Cook and McGill, the only player who played that had MVC experience was Ronnie Suggs Jr., who played at Bradley three years ago. On top of that, the Salukis were on the road against a red-hot Indiana State team (8-4, 1-0 MVC) that won its eighth-straight game and is rated No. 2 in the league in the NET.Â
"We caught a break tonight; we understand that, with them being shorthanded without some good players," Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing said. "We knew they would come in here and fight like crazy, and the rest of their guys really stepped up well. We had to play awfully hard. We knew it coming in. Every possession in The Valley is going to be a fistfight."
Southern's young backcourt -- true freshmen Lance Jones and Trent Brown started in lieu of seniors Cook and McGill -- were going against arguably the league's top backcourt tandem -- preseason All-Conference picks Jordan Barnes and Tyreke Key. Barnes and Key combined for 29 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals; and the Sycamores rolled to its eighth-straight win after starting the year 0-4.Â
SIU head coach Bryan Mullins declined to use SIU's shorthanded backcourt as an excuse in the loss.Â
"It's next-man up," Mullins said. "It's an impact (losing McGill for the game) -- obviously he's a senior guard, and he's a big part of our team -- but we had enough in our locker room to be successful today, and we just didn't get it done."
The Sycamores got off to hot starts in both halves to control the game. They went up 12-4 in the first 3:30 of the first half and started the second half on a 9-2 run. But the undermanned Salukis battled, getting within four points in the first half. After Indiana State got ahead by 17 early in the second half, SIU battled back to get within 10 at the 8:08 mark before a 9-0 Indiana State run put the game away. SIU remained winless in true road games this year, and Indiana State remained undefeated at home.
"The toughest thing to do in this league is to win on the road," Mullins said. "Indiana State is playing at a high level right now. Their guards are playing extremely well together. We have to be more disciplined in order to have success. We need to get back to practice and back to work before a big game coming up on Saturday."
Barret Benson was outstanding for SIU with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Marcus Domask had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists and started the game 6-of-9 from the field. With the game decided, SIU gave its inexperienced roster a chance to grow, with only freshmen and sophomores playing the game's final six minutes.Â
"It's a great league. There are great players in this league, and they're extremely well coached," Mullins said. "Everything matters. Every possession matters. That's where we need to get better in terms of executing on both sides of the ball."
UP NEXT: The Salukis host Illinois State on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Banterra Center.Â
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Team Stats
SIU
ISU
FG%
.440
.527
3FG%
.278
.462
FT%
.538
.333
RB
29
34
TO
14
11
STL
4
6
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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