Saturday, January 4
Carbondale, Ill.
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
7-8,1-1MVC
67
vs
55
Illinois State
6-8,1-1MVC
1
2
F
Illinois St.
19
36
55
Southern Ill.
29
38
67
SIU clamps down Illinois State, 67-55
01/04/2020 | 5:31:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The SIU men's basketball team held Illinois State to a season-low 55 points in a 67-55 win over the Redbirds on Saturday afternoon at Banterra Center.Â
Illinois State (6-8, 1-1 MVC) was coming off a 56-point second half in its last game, a win over the top rated team in the MVC, Northern Iowa -- and the Salukis held the Redbirds to just 55 points total today, and just 19 points in the first half. SIU (7-8, 1-1 MVC) held Illinois State to 34.8% shooting -- including an 0-for-10 mark from the 3-point line -- in the first half. SIU took a 29-19 lead into the break.Â
"I'm proud of our guys. Their effort and our first-half defense were really good," Mullins said. "We took away a lot of things. They were locked into the scouting report. The pressure and energy we played with, especially in the first half, set the tone for the rest of the game. Illinois State was playing extremely well, and they're a tough matchup for us. For us to be able to guard the 3-point line the way we did -- they missed a couple open ones, but we did a pretty good job keeping them off the 3-point line -- and then the rebounding was great for us as well."
On an SIU team that has been known for its youth, it was the three available seniors stepped up big in the first game of 2020: Barret Benson (13), Ronnie Suggs Jr. (13), and Eric McGill (12) all scored in double-figures and also combined for 16 rebounds.Â
"I'm really pleased with for our guys, especially our seniors," Mullins said. "Those three guys all stepped up big, and you need to have some experience to have success in The Valley. The seniors made hustle plays and energy plays."
Star freshman Marcus Domask appeared to be the focus of Illinois State's defense, and the Redbirds contained him for most of the game. But it only took one 90-second stretch for Domask to put his stamp on the game: He scored on four-straight possessions to turn a single-digit game into a 17-point margin that ignited the Banterra Center crowd of 4,580 into a frenzy. Domask was the game's top scorer with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and 10 of his 16 points came during that personal 10-2 run that lasted just a minute and a half.Â
"That felt great. To look around and see a packed house chanting like that -- to have that lift when you make a play, it makes every play feel that much bigger and so much more important," Domask said of the raucous crowd.
"That's why this place is so special -- because of the way the community supports us," Mullins said of the great crowd. "That S-I-U chant, for me, means a lot. For the crowd to be on their feet cheering, I think it's special for our guys. But you only get it when you play the right way, and I thought our guys played the right way today."
If Illinois State had any hope of a comeback, it was ended by SIU's seniors, who combined to score 13 of SIU's next 16 points after Domask's run. At one point, Illinois State trimmed SIU's lead to 12 and then subsequently scored on three of its next four possessions, but Benson got three big buckets on SIU's end during that span, and the Redbirds never got within single digits.Â
Benson finished with a game-high seven rebounds, leading SIU to a +9 margin on the glass, its largest rebounding advantage of the season. Eight SIU players had at least three rebounds, and the Salukis limited Illinois State to five offensive rebounds and only six second-chance points.
SIU, which lost its MVC opener after senior guard Eric McGill came down with the flu, felt McGill's presence today. He had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists (vs. only 1 turnover), and two steals. He also was a big part of the defensive assignment on Redbird star guard Zach Copeland, who went 4-of-13 from the field and 0-of-6 from the 3-point line.Â
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Valparaiso on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Banterra Center. SIU is offering discounted $10 tickets to the general public for the final time this season. Get tickets by calling 877-SALUKIS or online at SIUSalukis.com/tickets.Â
NOTES: SIU improved to 6-1 at Banterra Center this season ... The home team in the SIU-Illinois State series improved to 12-1 since the start of the 2013-14 season ... SIU committed a season-high 19 turnovers but also forced a season-high 20 turnovers ... SIU (12 assists) won with 14 or fewer assists for the first time this year. SIU is now 6-0 when it has 15+ assists and 1-8 when it has 14 or fewer assists ... SIU was 5-of-10 from the 3-point line in the second half ... Ronnie Suggs Jr.'s 13 points were a season high ... SIU held Illinois State to 19 points in the first half, SIU's best scoring defense half against a Division I opponent this season (allowed 18 vs. Division III Illinois Wesleyan in the first half) ... SIU won its first game of the decade for the fourth-straight decade (also won first game of 1990, 2000, and 2010 calendar years) and is 8-3 all-time in decade-starter games ... SIU, which won the rebounding battle only once in its first eight games of the season, has now won the rebounding battle in five of its last seven games.Â
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Illinois State (6-8, 1-1 MVC) was coming off a 56-point second half in its last game, a win over the top rated team in the MVC, Northern Iowa -- and the Salukis held the Redbirds to just 55 points total today, and just 19 points in the first half. SIU (7-8, 1-1 MVC) held Illinois State to 34.8% shooting -- including an 0-for-10 mark from the 3-point line -- in the first half. SIU took a 29-19 lead into the break.Â
"I'm proud of our guys. Their effort and our first-half defense were really good," Mullins said. "We took away a lot of things. They were locked into the scouting report. The pressure and energy we played with, especially in the first half, set the tone for the rest of the game. Illinois State was playing extremely well, and they're a tough matchup for us. For us to be able to guard the 3-point line the way we did -- they missed a couple open ones, but we did a pretty good job keeping them off the 3-point line -- and then the rebounding was great for us as well."
On an SIU team that has been known for its youth, it was the three available seniors stepped up big in the first game of 2020: Barret Benson (13), Ronnie Suggs Jr. (13), and Eric McGill (12) all scored in double-figures and also combined for 16 rebounds.Â
"I'm really pleased with for our guys, especially our seniors," Mullins said. "Those three guys all stepped up big, and you need to have some experience to have success in The Valley. The seniors made hustle plays and energy plays."
Star freshman Marcus Domask appeared to be the focus of Illinois State's defense, and the Redbirds contained him for most of the game. But it only took one 90-second stretch for Domask to put his stamp on the game: He scored on four-straight possessions to turn a single-digit game into a 17-point margin that ignited the Banterra Center crowd of 4,580 into a frenzy. Domask was the game's top scorer with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and 10 of his 16 points came during that personal 10-2 run that lasted just a minute and a half.Â
"That felt great. To look around and see a packed house chanting like that -- to have that lift when you make a play, it makes every play feel that much bigger and so much more important," Domask said of the raucous crowd.
"That's why this place is so special -- because of the way the community supports us," Mullins said of the great crowd. "That S-I-U chant, for me, means a lot. For the crowd to be on their feet cheering, I think it's special for our guys. But you only get it when you play the right way, and I thought our guys played the right way today."
If Illinois State had any hope of a comeback, it was ended by SIU's seniors, who combined to score 13 of SIU's next 16 points after Domask's run. At one point, Illinois State trimmed SIU's lead to 12 and then subsequently scored on three of its next four possessions, but Benson got three big buckets on SIU's end during that span, and the Redbirds never got within single digits.Â
Benson finished with a game-high seven rebounds, leading SIU to a +9 margin on the glass, its largest rebounding advantage of the season. Eight SIU players had at least three rebounds, and the Salukis limited Illinois State to five offensive rebounds and only six second-chance points.
SIU, which lost its MVC opener after senior guard Eric McGill came down with the flu, felt McGill's presence today. He had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists (vs. only 1 turnover), and two steals. He also was a big part of the defensive assignment on Redbird star guard Zach Copeland, who went 4-of-13 from the field and 0-of-6 from the 3-point line.Â
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Valparaiso on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Banterra Center. SIU is offering discounted $10 tickets to the general public for the final time this season. Get tickets by calling 877-SALUKIS or online at SIUSalukis.com/tickets.Â
NOTES: SIU improved to 6-1 at Banterra Center this season ... The home team in the SIU-Illinois State series improved to 12-1 since the start of the 2013-14 season ... SIU committed a season-high 19 turnovers but also forced a season-high 20 turnovers ... SIU (12 assists) won with 14 or fewer assists for the first time this year. SIU is now 6-0 when it has 15+ assists and 1-8 when it has 14 or fewer assists ... SIU was 5-of-10 from the 3-point line in the second half ... Ronnie Suggs Jr.'s 13 points were a season high ... SIU held Illinois State to 19 points in the first half, SIU's best scoring defense half against a Division I opponent this season (allowed 18 vs. Division III Illinois Wesleyan in the first half) ... SIU won its first game of the decade for the fourth-straight decade (also won first game of 1990, 2000, and 2010 calendar years) and is 8-3 all-time in decade-starter games ... SIU, which won the rebounding battle only once in its first eight games of the season, has now won the rebounding battle in five of its last seven games.Â
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Team Stats
ISU
SIU
FG%
.408
.460
3FG%
.118
.353
FT%
.722
.750
RB
27
36
TO
20
19
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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