Sunday, January 19
Carbondale, Ill.
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
9-10,3-3MVC
66
vs
49
Drake
13-6,3-3MVC
1
2
F
Drake
23
26
49
Southern Ill.
31
35
66
Salukis overcome adversity, blow past Drake, 66-49
01/19/2020 | 5:26:00 | Men's Basketball
Photo Gallery
CARBONDALE, Ill - Despite being down to just eight healthy scholarship players, the shorthanded SIU men's basketball team built a 15-point first-half lead and then went on a 17-0 run in the second half to blow out Drake 66-49 on Sunday afternoon at Banterra Center.Â
"For 40 minutes, especially on the defensive side of the ball, our guys were really locked in," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "They really guarded as a team. Everyone had each other's back today. That was the biggest thing, especially playing against Drake, who is so fast-paced. I thought we did a good job taking them out of transition. Drake missed a lot of open shots and open 3's, and that's not going to happen every single time. There are games in a year that things kind of click for your team. I was happy for our guys to see the emotion, to see them having fun on the court, to see the fans and community react and appreciate them. It was a great game for the program today."
Senior SIU starter Ronnie Suggs Jr. suffered an injury in practice on Saturday and was unable to play. SIU was already without Aaron Cook, Sekou Dembele and Stevan Jeremic due to injuries, and without Ben Harvey as he sits the season due to NCAA transfer rules. And the Salukis were facing the defending MVC regular-season champions in Drake, but it didn't matter. The two remaining active seniors, Eric McGill and Barret Benson, picked up the slack with 18 points apiece, and they also combined for 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.Â
"Eric and Barret played great, obviously," Mullins said. "With Ronnie being out, our whole attitude was, 'Next man up.' Eric gave us some energy in the second half when it was going back-and-forth. He has had a great mindset and great focus since he came back from the flu (at Indiana State)."
---
Watch » Inside the Locker Room | Game Highlights | Postgame Press Conference
---
SIU (9-10, 3-3 MVC) opened up a lead in the first half by holding Drake (13-6, 3-3 MVC) to only three points over a nine-minute stretch. The Salukis went on an 18-3 run to turn a 7-7 tie game into a 25-10 Saluki lead. In that span, SIU held Drake to 0-for-6 from the field with six turnovers. During SIU's second-half 17-0 run, it held Drake to 0-for-4 from the field with two turnovers, while SIU went 6-for-6 from the floor during the run.
For the game, SIU limited Drake to 36% shooting from the field and 4-of-25 (16%) from the 3-point line. SIU, which is ranked in the top-25 nationally in scoring defense, has held three of its six MVC opponents to 55 points or fewer. Tonight, Drake didn't eclipse the 40-point mark until there were less than 4 minutes to play in the game, and SIU held a 24-point lead.Â
"They do a good job understanding what their responsibilities are on each possession, and where they're supposed to be," Drake head coach Darien DeVries said about SIU. "They do a nice job of game planning what they're trying to take away from other team's offenses. It starts with (Mullins) gets them all to play hard. That's a great place to start. On top of that, they're well coached. Defensively, it's no secret that they have made that a priority, and it shows up on the game floor."
After SIU built a 15-point lead in the first half, Drake battled back to get as close as 3 early in the second half, but McGill flipped momentum back to SIU with a personal 8-0 run that started SIU's 17-0 outburst. McGill's personal 8-0 run all happened in just 55 seconds. After a Lance Jones layup, Benson then rattled off 7-straight points himself. SIU's entire 17-0 run happened in less than three minutes, sending the Banterra Center crowd of 4,337 into a frenzy. SIU improved to 8-1 at Banterra Center and has won seven-straight home games.Â
"The fans -- you can't underestimate that," Benson said. "The energy in this building when we go on runs is incredible. You saw it tonight. We went on that run, and it gives you that extra boost that you need."
---
Listen » Mullins postgame | McGill postgame | Radio Highlights
---
While SIU's seniors led the way, a trio of freshmen were also terrific. Freshman point guard Lance Jones had a career-high 9 rebounds to go along with 12 points. Marcus Domask (10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 turnovers) was SIU's fourth player that scored in double-figures. Karrington Davis went 3-for-3 from the field and scored 8 points.Â
SIU committed just eight turnovers -- with two of those coming in the game's final two minutes after the outcome was already determined.Â
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Northern Iowa at 8 p.m. (fans, note the later-than-usual time) on Wednesday, January 22. Tickets are available at 877-SALUKIS or by visiting SIUSalukis.com/tickets.
NOTES:Â Barret Benson (18 points, 10 rebounds) recorded his first double-double at SIU, and the second double-double of his career. Benson also had a career-high 18 points ... Lance Jones set a career high with 9 rebounds ... One of SIU's all-time greats, Marcus Timmons, was in attendance and recognized at the game ... MVC commissioner Doug Elgin was in attendance and received a commemorative #30 SIU jersey, representing 30 years of Arch Madness in St. Louis.
Â
CARBONDALE, Ill - Despite being down to just eight healthy scholarship players, the shorthanded SIU men's basketball team built a 15-point first-half lead and then went on a 17-0 run in the second half to blow out Drake 66-49 on Sunday afternoon at Banterra Center.Â
"For 40 minutes, especially on the defensive side of the ball, our guys were really locked in," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "They really guarded as a team. Everyone had each other's back today. That was the biggest thing, especially playing against Drake, who is so fast-paced. I thought we did a good job taking them out of transition. Drake missed a lot of open shots and open 3's, and that's not going to happen every single time. There are games in a year that things kind of click for your team. I was happy for our guys to see the emotion, to see them having fun on the court, to see the fans and community react and appreciate them. It was a great game for the program today."
Senior SIU starter Ronnie Suggs Jr. suffered an injury in practice on Saturday and was unable to play. SIU was already without Aaron Cook, Sekou Dembele and Stevan Jeremic due to injuries, and without Ben Harvey as he sits the season due to NCAA transfer rules. And the Salukis were facing the defending MVC regular-season champions in Drake, but it didn't matter. The two remaining active seniors, Eric McGill and Barret Benson, picked up the slack with 18 points apiece, and they also combined for 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.Â
"Eric and Barret played great, obviously," Mullins said. "With Ronnie being out, our whole attitude was, 'Next man up.' Eric gave us some energy in the second half when it was going back-and-forth. He has had a great mindset and great focus since he came back from the flu (at Indiana State)."
---
Watch » Inside the Locker Room | Game Highlights | Postgame Press Conference
---
SIU (9-10, 3-3 MVC) opened up a lead in the first half by holding Drake (13-6, 3-3 MVC) to only three points over a nine-minute stretch. The Salukis went on an 18-3 run to turn a 7-7 tie game into a 25-10 Saluki lead. In that span, SIU held Drake to 0-for-6 from the field with six turnovers. During SIU's second-half 17-0 run, it held Drake to 0-for-4 from the field with two turnovers, while SIU went 6-for-6 from the floor during the run.
For the game, SIU limited Drake to 36% shooting from the field and 4-of-25 (16%) from the 3-point line. SIU, which is ranked in the top-25 nationally in scoring defense, has held three of its six MVC opponents to 55 points or fewer. Tonight, Drake didn't eclipse the 40-point mark until there were less than 4 minutes to play in the game, and SIU held a 24-point lead.Â
"They do a good job understanding what their responsibilities are on each possession, and where they're supposed to be," Drake head coach Darien DeVries said about SIU. "They do a nice job of game planning what they're trying to take away from other team's offenses. It starts with (Mullins) gets them all to play hard. That's a great place to start. On top of that, they're well coached. Defensively, it's no secret that they have made that a priority, and it shows up on the game floor."
After SIU built a 15-point lead in the first half, Drake battled back to get as close as 3 early in the second half, but McGill flipped momentum back to SIU with a personal 8-0 run that started SIU's 17-0 outburst. McGill's personal 8-0 run all happened in just 55 seconds. After a Lance Jones layup, Benson then rattled off 7-straight points himself. SIU's entire 17-0 run happened in less than three minutes, sending the Banterra Center crowd of 4,337 into a frenzy. SIU improved to 8-1 at Banterra Center and has won seven-straight home games.Â
"The fans -- you can't underestimate that," Benson said. "The energy in this building when we go on runs is incredible. You saw it tonight. We went on that run, and it gives you that extra boost that you need."
---
Listen » Mullins postgame | McGill postgame | Radio Highlights
---
While SIU's seniors led the way, a trio of freshmen were also terrific. Freshman point guard Lance Jones had a career-high 9 rebounds to go along with 12 points. Marcus Domask (10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 turnovers) was SIU's fourth player that scored in double-figures. Karrington Davis went 3-for-3 from the field and scored 8 points.Â
SIU committed just eight turnovers -- with two of those coming in the game's final two minutes after the outcome was already determined.Â
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Northern Iowa at 8 p.m. (fans, note the later-than-usual time) on Wednesday, January 22. Tickets are available at 877-SALUKIS or by visiting SIUSalukis.com/tickets.
NOTES:Â Barret Benson (18 points, 10 rebounds) recorded his first double-double at SIU, and the second double-double of his career. Benson also had a career-high 18 points ... Lance Jones set a career high with 9 rebounds ... One of SIU's all-time greats, Marcus Timmons, was in attendance and recognized at the game ... MVC commissioner Doug Elgin was in attendance and received a commemorative #30 SIU jersey, representing 30 years of Arch Madness in St. Louis.
Â
Team Stats
DRA
SIU
FG%
.360
.412
3FG%
.160
.333
FT%
.643
.727
RB
33
34
TO
14
8
STL
3
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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