Wednesday, December 4
Carbondale, Ill.
7 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
4-5,0-0MVC
76
vs
59
Norfolk State
3-7,0-0MEAC
1
2
F
Norfolk St.
30
29
59
Southern Ill.
42
34
76
Salukis throttle Norfolk State, 76-59
12/04/2019 | 9:27:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The SIU men's basketball team hit 14 3-pointers en route to a 76-59 win over Norfolk State on Wednesday night at Banterra Center. Five Salukis scored in a double-figures in the win.
"I'm proud of my guys. I thought they competed for the most part for all 40 minutes tonight. There was great energy," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "The bench came in and made a difference tonight. Trent (Brown) played really well on the defensive side of the ball. He got some stops and was physical guarding the ball. That gave us a great lift. Eric (McGill) had his most complete game of the season. He was locked in every single possession. The ball was moving tonight. Lance (Jones) and Eric did a good job sharing it. The guys stepped in and shot with confidence."
SIU (4-5) played well in all facets of the game. Norfolk State (3-7) entered the game ranked in the top-25 nationally in 3-point field goal defense; the Salukis shredded Norfolk's defense and went 14-of-30 (46.7%) from the 3-point line. SIU had struggled with rebounding this year, but the Salukis were a season-best plus-six on the boards tonight. SIU's 76 points were the most Norfolk has allowed in a game this year.
The Spartans, who beat Alabama in the NIT last year and won the MEAC regular season title, had played close games against Ole Miss, Bradley and Northwestern already this year. SIU led by as many as 20 in the second half and became the first team to beat NSU by more than 13 this season.
SIU's three true freshmen -- Lance Jones, Trent Brown, and Marcus Domask -- led the way, combining for 42 points. Domask had SIU's first double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Brown played easily his best game as a Saluki, knocking down 3-of-5 3-pointers and recording four steals. Jones, a freshman, and Eric McGill, a senior, were both impressively balanced. McGill had 14 points and a career-high seven assists. Jones had 13 points and set career highs in both rebounds (5) and assists (6). Jones is averaging 4.3 assists per game in the three games since star senior guard Aaron Cook broke his hand.
"One of our game goals was to take three or more charges. We took four charges, and Lance took three of them," Mullins said. "That's huge for us. We need to have those 50-50 plays and those toughness plays to win games. (The freshmen) all got on the floor, stepped up, and played well tonight."
Norfolk's final lead was 19-18 about eight minutes into the game, but Jones went on a personal 7-0 run and SIU never looked back. When the Spartans got within eight points early in the second half, SIU answered with an 8-0 run, capped with back-to-back 3-pointers by Brown.
A spirited crowd of 3,761 gave the Salukis a standing ovation a few minutes later when the hustling Salukis won a slew of 50-50 balls and cashed in a 7-0 run to push the lead to 20 points with less than four minutes to play. SIU ended the day with a season-high 21 assists.
Defensively, SIU held its ninth-straight opponent under 50% shooting. The Salukis held the Spartans to 12-of-31 (38.7%) in the first half to take a 42-30 lead into the break. For the game, SIU held NSU to 6-of-20 (30%) from the 3-point line.
UP NEXT: SIU travels to Southern Miss for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, December 7.
NOTES: SIU has held all nine opponents under 50 percent from the field this year. SIU came into the game leading the MVC in field goal percentage defense ... The Salukis improved to 2-0 this year when five players score in double-figures ... SIU's 14 3-pointers are tied for seventh-most in a game in school history ... SIU's 42 first-half points were tied for the most by SIU in any half this season.
CAREER HIGHS: Eric McGill assists (7), Marcus Domask rebounds (12), Harwin Francois points (11), Trent Brown points (11), Brown steals (4), Brown assists (3), Lance Jones assists (6), Jones rebounds (5), Harwin Francois rebounds (4)
"I'm proud of my guys. I thought they competed for the most part for all 40 minutes tonight. There was great energy," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "The bench came in and made a difference tonight. Trent (Brown) played really well on the defensive side of the ball. He got some stops and was physical guarding the ball. That gave us a great lift. Eric (McGill) had his most complete game of the season. He was locked in every single possession. The ball was moving tonight. Lance (Jones) and Eric did a good job sharing it. The guys stepped in and shot with confidence."
SIU (4-5) played well in all facets of the game. Norfolk State (3-7) entered the game ranked in the top-25 nationally in 3-point field goal defense; the Salukis shredded Norfolk's defense and went 14-of-30 (46.7%) from the 3-point line. SIU had struggled with rebounding this year, but the Salukis were a season-best plus-six on the boards tonight. SIU's 76 points were the most Norfolk has allowed in a game this year.
The Spartans, who beat Alabama in the NIT last year and won the MEAC regular season title, had played close games against Ole Miss, Bradley and Northwestern already this year. SIU led by as many as 20 in the second half and became the first team to beat NSU by more than 13 this season.
SIU's three true freshmen -- Lance Jones, Trent Brown, and Marcus Domask -- led the way, combining for 42 points. Domask had SIU's first double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Brown played easily his best game as a Saluki, knocking down 3-of-5 3-pointers and recording four steals. Jones, a freshman, and Eric McGill, a senior, were both impressively balanced. McGill had 14 points and a career-high seven assists. Jones had 13 points and set career highs in both rebounds (5) and assists (6). Jones is averaging 4.3 assists per game in the three games since star senior guard Aaron Cook broke his hand.
"One of our game goals was to take three or more charges. We took four charges, and Lance took three of them," Mullins said. "That's huge for us. We need to have those 50-50 plays and those toughness plays to win games. (The freshmen) all got on the floor, stepped up, and played well tonight."
Norfolk's final lead was 19-18 about eight minutes into the game, but Jones went on a personal 7-0 run and SIU never looked back. When the Spartans got within eight points early in the second half, SIU answered with an 8-0 run, capped with back-to-back 3-pointers by Brown.
A spirited crowd of 3,761 gave the Salukis a standing ovation a few minutes later when the hustling Salukis won a slew of 50-50 balls and cashed in a 7-0 run to push the lead to 20 points with less than four minutes to play. SIU ended the day with a season-high 21 assists.
Defensively, SIU held its ninth-straight opponent under 50% shooting. The Salukis held the Spartans to 12-of-31 (38.7%) in the first half to take a 42-30 lead into the break. For the game, SIU held NSU to 6-of-20 (30%) from the 3-point line.
UP NEXT: SIU travels to Southern Miss for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, December 7.
NOTES: SIU has held all nine opponents under 50 percent from the field this year. SIU came into the game leading the MVC in field goal percentage defense ... The Salukis improved to 2-0 this year when five players score in double-figures ... SIU's 14 3-pointers are tied for seventh-most in a game in school history ... SIU's 42 first-half points were tied for the most by SIU in any half this season.
CAREER HIGHS: Eric McGill assists (7), Marcus Domask rebounds (12), Harwin Francois points (11), Trent Brown points (11), Brown steals (4), Brown assists (3), Lance Jones assists (6), Jones rebounds (5), Harwin Francois rebounds (4)
Team Stats
Norf
SIU
FG%
.444
.481
3FG%
.300
.467
FT%
.556
.909
RB
27
33
TO
14
15
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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