Saturday, February 9
Carbondale, Ill.
7 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
13-12, 6-6MVC
78
vs
73
Evansville
10-15, 4-8MVC
1
2
F
Evansville
30
43
73
Southern Illinois
35
43
78
Salukis take down Evansville for third-straight home win
02/09/2019 | 10:11:00 | Men's Basketball
Photo Gallery
CARBONDALE, Ill. - A balanced offensive attack that saw five SIU players score in double-figures led the Southern Illinois men's basketball team to a 78-73 win over Evansville on Saturday night at SIU Arena.
SIU (13-12, 6-6 MVC) led nearly the entire way and was able to fend off a pesky Evansville (10-15, 4-8 MVC) team that refused to go away. Southern's starting five of Kavion Pippen, Aaron Cook, Sean Lloyd Jr., Armon Fletcher and Eric McGill combined to score 72 of the team's 78 points. Marcus Bartley scored the other six points off the bench, including a big 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give SIU a 35-30 lead going into the break.
Pippen led the way with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Sean Lloyd had 8 rebounds to go along with his 14 points. Aaron Cook stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals with only one turnover, and he did that while guarding Evansville guard KJ Riley, who came into the game ranked second nationally in free throw attempts. Cook held Riley to just three free throw attempts until the game's final minute, earning praise from SIU head coach Barry Hinson.
"When you do that (5 players in double-figures), you're pretty doggone good," Hinson said. "The key to our success throughout the whole season is going to be about Aaron Cook. He had seven assists tonight and one turnover. He also played his tail off on KJ Riley. If I have to brag on anybody, I have to brag on him. He was extremely unselfish; he made great reads; he kept the tempo up offensively and defensively."
Cook had seven of SIU's 15 assists and helped the Salukis shoot 47 percent from the field during the game.
"He didn't have 15 points tonight--he had 15 points and a minimum of 14 points (that he assisted on); he scored 29 points tonight," Hinson said. "Some of those assists were 3-pointers, so this kid scored 30 points tonight sharing the basketball."
The Salukis had trailed by double-figures at halftime in each of their last two games before furious second-half rallies saw SIU take the lead late in each game. Tonight, no second-half rally was needed thanks to 47 percent shooting in the first half and five 3-pointers. The Salukis still had a big second half, scoring 43 points, but could withstand Evansville's 43-point second half thanks to the fast start.
"We're tired of being down 13 at half. I should have told them before the game that we were already down 13, but I wasn't that sarcastic," Hinson said. "But we really emphasized getting off to a good start."
A crowd of nearly 5,000 was at SIU Arena for the win, and the familiar "S-I-U" chant burst out at several different points during the game.
"I thought it was awesome," Hinson said. "I don't hear the crowd most of the game until they start changing 'S-I-U,' and then it's hard for me not to join them. I've done it a couple times. When they start doing that, it's really special."
Southern's defense forced 17 Evansville turnovers and had 11 steals, led by three each from Lloyd and Cook. SIU went 19-of-25 from the free throw line in the game, including 10-of-12 down the stretch to keep the Aces at arm's length.
SIU, which has won three-straight home games, hosts Drake on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in SIU Arena.
NOTES: SIU had five players in double-figures for the third time this season, and the first time since December 1 at SIU Edwardsville. SIU is 3-0 this year when five players score in double-figures. ... Cook's 7 assists marked the fourth time he has had 7+ assists in a game (3 in MVC play) ... Pippen is averaging 20.7 points over the last three games ... SIU is 11-4 in its last 15 home MVC games.
CARBONDALE, Ill. - A balanced offensive attack that saw five SIU players score in double-figures led the Southern Illinois men's basketball team to a 78-73 win over Evansville on Saturday night at SIU Arena.
SIU (13-12, 6-6 MVC) led nearly the entire way and was able to fend off a pesky Evansville (10-15, 4-8 MVC) team that refused to go away. Southern's starting five of Kavion Pippen, Aaron Cook, Sean Lloyd Jr., Armon Fletcher and Eric McGill combined to score 72 of the team's 78 points. Marcus Bartley scored the other six points off the bench, including a big 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give SIU a 35-30 lead going into the break.
Pippen led the way with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Sean Lloyd had 8 rebounds to go along with his 14 points. Aaron Cook stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals with only one turnover, and he did that while guarding Evansville guard KJ Riley, who came into the game ranked second nationally in free throw attempts. Cook held Riley to just three free throw attempts until the game's final minute, earning praise from SIU head coach Barry Hinson.
"When you do that (5 players in double-figures), you're pretty doggone good," Hinson said. "The key to our success throughout the whole season is going to be about Aaron Cook. He had seven assists tonight and one turnover. He also played his tail off on KJ Riley. If I have to brag on anybody, I have to brag on him. He was extremely unselfish; he made great reads; he kept the tempo up offensively and defensively."
Cook had seven of SIU's 15 assists and helped the Salukis shoot 47 percent from the field during the game.
"He didn't have 15 points tonight--he had 15 points and a minimum of 14 points (that he assisted on); he scored 29 points tonight," Hinson said. "Some of those assists were 3-pointers, so this kid scored 30 points tonight sharing the basketball."
The Salukis had trailed by double-figures at halftime in each of their last two games before furious second-half rallies saw SIU take the lead late in each game. Tonight, no second-half rally was needed thanks to 47 percent shooting in the first half and five 3-pointers. The Salukis still had a big second half, scoring 43 points, but could withstand Evansville's 43-point second half thanks to the fast start.
"We're tired of being down 13 at half. I should have told them before the game that we were already down 13, but I wasn't that sarcastic," Hinson said. "But we really emphasized getting off to a good start."
A crowd of nearly 5,000 was at SIU Arena for the win, and the familiar "S-I-U" chant burst out at several different points during the game.
"I thought it was awesome," Hinson said. "I don't hear the crowd most of the game until they start changing 'S-I-U,' and then it's hard for me not to join them. I've done it a couple times. When they start doing that, it's really special."
Southern's defense forced 17 Evansville turnovers and had 11 steals, led by three each from Lloyd and Cook. SIU went 19-of-25 from the free throw line in the game, including 10-of-12 down the stretch to keep the Aces at arm's length.
SIU, which has won three-straight home games, hosts Drake on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in SIU Arena.
NOTES: SIU had five players in double-figures for the third time this season, and the first time since December 1 at SIU Edwardsville. SIU is 3-0 this year when five players score in double-figures. ... Cook's 7 assists marked the fourth time he has had 7+ assists in a game (3 in MVC play) ... Pippen is averaging 20.7 points over the last three games ... SIU is 11-4 in its last 15 home MVC games.
Team Stats
EVA
SIU
FG%
.473
.473
3FG%
.391
.350
FT%
.632
.760
RB
35
31
TO
17
12
STL
8
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
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