Saturday, January 25
Normal, Ill.
2 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
11-10, 5-3MVC
58
at
55
Illinois State
6-14, 1-7MVC
1
2
F
Southern Illinois
17
41
58
Illinois State
23
32
55
Salukis outlast Illinois State on the road, 58-55
01/25/2020 | 4:13:00 | Men's Basketball
NORMAL, Ill. - The SIU men's basketball team overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to beat Illinois State 58-55 at Redbird Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Salukis earned their first true road win of the season and snapped a 12-year Redbird Arena losing streak that dated back to 2006-07.
"I'm proud of our group," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "That's a tough Illinois State team to play. We had just played them recently, and they're extremely well coached. It was an ugly win, a grind-it-out win. They gave us a ton of problems, especially in that first 30 minutes. They guarded us well. I thought we did a good job executing in the last four minutes of the game and made some big plays at the end."
SIU's top two scorers, Marcus Domask and Eric McGill, started slowly, combining to go 1-for-11 in the first half. SIU freshman Lance Jones started the game on a personal 7-0 run; but after that, SIU (11-10, 5-3 MVC) struggled offensively and trailed 23-17 at halftime. But Domask and McGill turned it around in the second half. Domask scored 16 second-half points and McGill had 15.
Illinois State (6-14, 1-7 MVC) led by 10 early in the second half, but the Salukis stormed all the way back to tie the game with four minutes remaining. After giving Illinois State 14 turnovers in the game's first 31 minutes, SIU didn't commit a turnover in the game's final nine minutes. After giving Illinois State 12 fast-break points in the first half, SIU didn't allow any fast break points in the second half. After allowing seven offensive rebounds in the first half (and being outrebounded by 6), SIU allowed only one offensive rebound in the second half (and outrebounded Illinois State by 4).Â
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Watch » Highlights | Mullins Postgame Presser | Inside the Locker Room
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Everyone that played for SIU came up with some big plays in the comeback. Brendon Gooch hit a 3-pointer and grabbed two steals during SIU's comeback. Harwin Francois played only 12 minutes but grabbed a season-high 7 rebounds. But the biggest shots came by Domask, who down the stretch hit two huge 3-pointers around an Illinois State dunk to give SIU a four-point lead.
"It's not like they were guarded terribly," Illinois State head coach Dan Muller said of Domask's 3's. "They were semi-contested. We were just s step slow to get to him, and he made some big-time shots."
Illinois State's Zach Copeland was outstanding all night, finishing with 24 points and was 5-of-7 from the 3-point line. He hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 49 seconds left, but Domask answered with a driving floater in the lane. Copeland had a chance to tie the game at the line, but split a pair of free throws, and SIU's Barret Benson hit two clutch free throws to give SIU a 3-point lead. Copeland's would-be game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, and SIU earned its first road win at Illinois State since the 2006-07 season, when Mullins was a sophomore guard for the Salukis. SIU also earned its first true road win of the season after starting the year 0-7 in true road games.
"We don't talk about it much, but it's nice to get that label or tag off for the rest of the season," Mullins said of the team's road record. "This is a hard place to play at. I know we haven't won here in a long time. It's a great win for the program and for this group of guys."
The Salukis won their third-straight game, a season high. SIU's 5-3 MVC record marks the program's best start through eight MVC games since 2015-16. The Salukis, who were picked last in the preseason MVC poll, are tied for third in the current MVC standings.
"This has been an amazing team to work with, in terms of their practice habits, and that's starting to pay off," Mullins said. "We brought in 10 new guys this spring. I still hope we're playing our best basketball next month. We still have a lot of room to improve. That's our goal."
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Listen » Mullins Postgame | Domask Postgame
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UP NEXT: SIU hosts Loyola at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29. The Salukis have won three-straight games and and welcoming the league-leading Ramblers into Banterra Center on Wednesday. Fans can purchase tickets discounted to just $8 from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28.
NOTES: SIU won its first true road game of the year ... SIU swept the season series from Illinois State for the first time since 2006-07 ... SIU's three-game winning streak is its longest of the season ... SIU is 5-3 in MVC play, its best start in league play through eight games since 2015-16 (7-1) ... After scoring 17 points in the first half, SIU scored 41 points in the second half ... SIU came into the game ranked #13 nationally in scoring defense and allowed just 55 points ... SIU won despite losing all the 'specialty stats': points in the paint, points off turnovers, second-chance points, fast-break points, and bench points ... SIU won for the first time this year when scoring less than 60 points ... SIU won for the first time this year when shooting less than 40% from the field ... SIU won for the first time this year when trailing at the half ... SIU won for the first time this year when it had fewer assists than its opponent ... SIU is 7-3 in its last 10 games after falling to 4-7 on December 15 ... SIU's KenPom rating jumped to #165, its highest of the season. SIU's rating has jumped 72 spots since November 26.Â
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"I'm proud of our group," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "That's a tough Illinois State team to play. We had just played them recently, and they're extremely well coached. It was an ugly win, a grind-it-out win. They gave us a ton of problems, especially in that first 30 minutes. They guarded us well. I thought we did a good job executing in the last four minutes of the game and made some big plays at the end."
SIU's top two scorers, Marcus Domask and Eric McGill, started slowly, combining to go 1-for-11 in the first half. SIU freshman Lance Jones started the game on a personal 7-0 run; but after that, SIU (11-10, 5-3 MVC) struggled offensively and trailed 23-17 at halftime. But Domask and McGill turned it around in the second half. Domask scored 16 second-half points and McGill had 15.
Illinois State (6-14, 1-7 MVC) led by 10 early in the second half, but the Salukis stormed all the way back to tie the game with four minutes remaining. After giving Illinois State 14 turnovers in the game's first 31 minutes, SIU didn't commit a turnover in the game's final nine minutes. After giving Illinois State 12 fast-break points in the first half, SIU didn't allow any fast break points in the second half. After allowing seven offensive rebounds in the first half (and being outrebounded by 6), SIU allowed only one offensive rebound in the second half (and outrebounded Illinois State by 4).Â
---
Watch » Highlights | Mullins Postgame Presser | Inside the Locker Room
---
Everyone that played for SIU came up with some big plays in the comeback. Brendon Gooch hit a 3-pointer and grabbed two steals during SIU's comeback. Harwin Francois played only 12 minutes but grabbed a season-high 7 rebounds. But the biggest shots came by Domask, who down the stretch hit two huge 3-pointers around an Illinois State dunk to give SIU a four-point lead.
"It's not like they were guarded terribly," Illinois State head coach Dan Muller said of Domask's 3's. "They were semi-contested. We were just s step slow to get to him, and he made some big-time shots."
Illinois State's Zach Copeland was outstanding all night, finishing with 24 points and was 5-of-7 from the 3-point line. He hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 49 seconds left, but Domask answered with a driving floater in the lane. Copeland had a chance to tie the game at the line, but split a pair of free throws, and SIU's Barret Benson hit two clutch free throws to give SIU a 3-point lead. Copeland's would-be game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, and SIU earned its first road win at Illinois State since the 2006-07 season, when Mullins was a sophomore guard for the Salukis. SIU also earned its first true road win of the season after starting the year 0-7 in true road games.
"We don't talk about it much, but it's nice to get that label or tag off for the rest of the season," Mullins said of the team's road record. "This is a hard place to play at. I know we haven't won here in a long time. It's a great win for the program and for this group of guys."
The Salukis won their third-straight game, a season high. SIU's 5-3 MVC record marks the program's best start through eight MVC games since 2015-16. The Salukis, who were picked last in the preseason MVC poll, are tied for third in the current MVC standings.
"This has been an amazing team to work with, in terms of their practice habits, and that's starting to pay off," Mullins said. "We brought in 10 new guys this spring. I still hope we're playing our best basketball next month. We still have a lot of room to improve. That's our goal."
---
Listen » Mullins Postgame | Domask Postgame
---
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Loyola at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29. The Salukis have won three-straight games and and welcoming the league-leading Ramblers into Banterra Center on Wednesday. Fans can purchase tickets discounted to just $8 from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28.
NOTES: SIU won its first true road game of the year ... SIU swept the season series from Illinois State for the first time since 2006-07 ... SIU's three-game winning streak is its longest of the season ... SIU is 5-3 in MVC play, its best start in league play through eight games since 2015-16 (7-1) ... After scoring 17 points in the first half, SIU scored 41 points in the second half ... SIU came into the game ranked #13 nationally in scoring defense and allowed just 55 points ... SIU won despite losing all the 'specialty stats': points in the paint, points off turnovers, second-chance points, fast-break points, and bench points ... SIU won for the first time this year when scoring less than 60 points ... SIU won for the first time this year when shooting less than 40% from the field ... SIU won for the first time this year when trailing at the half ... SIU won for the first time this year when it had fewer assists than its opponent ... SIU is 7-3 in its last 10 games after falling to 4-7 on December 15 ... SIU's KenPom rating jumped to #165, its highest of the season. SIU's rating has jumped 72 spots since November 26.Â
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Team Stats
SIU
ILS
FG%
.373
.415
3FG%
.391
.375
FT%
.688
.286
RB
33
35
TO
14
17
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
C
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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