Friday, December 18
Carbondale, Ill.
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
5-0,0-0MVC
62
vs
50
North Dakota
1-7,0-0Summit League
1
2
F
North Dakota
25
25
50
Southern Ill.
29
33
62
Salukis sweep back-to-back from UND to improve to 5-0
12/18/2020 | 5:25:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The SIU men's basketball team cruised to a second win over North Dakota in as many days, 62-50, on Friday afternoon at Banterra Center. The Salukis improved to 5-0 on the season.
The programs mimicked the new conference formats for each league by playing each other back-to-back days at the same site. The Salukis (5-0) took care of business on both nights, following Thursday's 85-64 win with a 62-50 win today. UND (1-7) hit a 3-pointer on its opening possession to take a 3-0 lead on Friday, but it was the only time in either game that the Salukis would trail. SIU had the lead back in less than two minutes and never relinquished it. The Salukis led by double-figures for 40 of the 80 minutes across both games.
"I'm incredibly proud of our guys," head coach Bryan Mullins said. "This was a great experience for us as players and coaches, to come back the next day against the same team and have the same intensity and focus as the first meeting. That will be really valuable for us when we play Evansville (Dec. 27-28). It's not easy to beat anyone twice, especially back-to-back, but our defensive effort and the way the guys played connected today on that end helped us win the game."
SIU's defense, which gave up 44 points in the second half to North Dakota on Thursday, was outstanding all game on Friday, limiting the Hawks to just 50 total points on 37% shooting and 27% from the 3-poine line. Offensively, SIU had its lowest output of the year and shot just 6-of-22 (27%) from the 3-poine line, but the Salukis still held a double-digit lead for the game's final 15 minutes with stifling defense.
"This was the first game we haven't shot well, and we won the game with our defense, and that was really positive to see," Mullins said.
Marcus Domask, who was held to 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting on Thursday, exploded for 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting Friday. He added five assists and a career-high three blocked shots. Two of Domask's fellow sophomores, Ben Harvey and Lance Jones, also had big nights. Harvey was a rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and 9 boards. Lance Jones had seven assists for the second-straight game.
North Dakota kept the game close for a half, getting within 29-25 at halftime. But the Salukis opened the second half on a 9-2 run to push the lead to double-figures and never looked back. SIU led by as many as 19 in the second half.
"At halftime, our guys realized they weren't playing their best, and there was really good focus in the locker room," Mullins said. "I thought they came out and played the right way those first four minutes of the second half to get us some separation from (UND)."
Outside of 16 turnovers, SIU had several offensive standouts beyond that sophomore class. Anthony D'Avanzo also had a near-double-double, posting 11 points and 8 rebounds. True freshman Kyler Filewich had another great game, posting back-to-back career highs with nine points in each game against UND. The Salukis had 16 assists on 23 field goals in the game.
"We have to continue to value the ball," Mullins said. "If we can get a shot every possession, with the offensive players we have, I think we can be a hard team to beat. We talk about that daily with our guys. Taking care of the ball is extremely important, in terms of the level of success we want to have."
SIU's 5-0 start was the program's best since the 2015-16 team also started 5-0. The Salukis haven't started 6-0 since the 2003-04 season. In the way of 6-0: a road trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse to face Butler on Monday night. The game, which was finalized just Thursday night after the first game against North Dakota, will air nationally on FS1.
"We're happy to be able to go up there and play," Mullins said. "I think it's a great opportunity for our guys to go to Indianapolis, where the NCAA Tournament is going to be played, and to play a team with a tradition like Butler. I think it's as good of a game as we could find. Obviously, we were trying to find something regional, with the COVID implications, so we can take a bus there. It makes a lot of sense for us right now."
NOTES: SIU is 5-0 for the first time since 2015-16 (also 5-0) ... The last time SIU was 6-0 to start a season was 2003-04 ... SIU won its eight-straight non-conference home game. SIU is 16-3 at Banterra Center under head coach Bryan Mullins and 21-4 at home since Jan. 23, 2019 ... SIU improved to 5-1 all-time against North Dakota ... SIU is 11-1 when it has 15+ assists under Mullins (3-0 this year).
The programs mimicked the new conference formats for each league by playing each other back-to-back days at the same site. The Salukis (5-0) took care of business on both nights, following Thursday's 85-64 win with a 62-50 win today. UND (1-7) hit a 3-pointer on its opening possession to take a 3-0 lead on Friday, but it was the only time in either game that the Salukis would trail. SIU had the lead back in less than two minutes and never relinquished it. The Salukis led by double-figures for 40 of the 80 minutes across both games.
"I'm incredibly proud of our guys," head coach Bryan Mullins said. "This was a great experience for us as players and coaches, to come back the next day against the same team and have the same intensity and focus as the first meeting. That will be really valuable for us when we play Evansville (Dec. 27-28). It's not easy to beat anyone twice, especially back-to-back, but our defensive effort and the way the guys played connected today on that end helped us win the game."
SIU's defense, which gave up 44 points in the second half to North Dakota on Thursday, was outstanding all game on Friday, limiting the Hawks to just 50 total points on 37% shooting and 27% from the 3-poine line. Offensively, SIU had its lowest output of the year and shot just 6-of-22 (27%) from the 3-poine line, but the Salukis still held a double-digit lead for the game's final 15 minutes with stifling defense.
"This was the first game we haven't shot well, and we won the game with our defense, and that was really positive to see," Mullins said.
Marcus Domask, who was held to 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting on Thursday, exploded for 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting Friday. He added five assists and a career-high three blocked shots. Two of Domask's fellow sophomores, Ben Harvey and Lance Jones, also had big nights. Harvey was a rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and 9 boards. Lance Jones had seven assists for the second-straight game.
North Dakota kept the game close for a half, getting within 29-25 at halftime. But the Salukis opened the second half on a 9-2 run to push the lead to double-figures and never looked back. SIU led by as many as 19 in the second half.
"At halftime, our guys realized they weren't playing their best, and there was really good focus in the locker room," Mullins said. "I thought they came out and played the right way those first four minutes of the second half to get us some separation from (UND)."
Outside of 16 turnovers, SIU had several offensive standouts beyond that sophomore class. Anthony D'Avanzo also had a near-double-double, posting 11 points and 8 rebounds. True freshman Kyler Filewich had another great game, posting back-to-back career highs with nine points in each game against UND. The Salukis had 16 assists on 23 field goals in the game.
"We have to continue to value the ball," Mullins said. "If we can get a shot every possession, with the offensive players we have, I think we can be a hard team to beat. We talk about that daily with our guys. Taking care of the ball is extremely important, in terms of the level of success we want to have."
SIU's 5-0 start was the program's best since the 2015-16 team also started 5-0. The Salukis haven't started 6-0 since the 2003-04 season. In the way of 6-0: a road trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse to face Butler on Monday night. The game, which was finalized just Thursday night after the first game against North Dakota, will air nationally on FS1.
"We're happy to be able to go up there and play," Mullins said. "I think it's a great opportunity for our guys to go to Indianapolis, where the NCAA Tournament is going to be played, and to play a team with a tradition like Butler. I think it's as good of a game as we could find. Obviously, we were trying to find something regional, with the COVID implications, so we can take a bus there. It makes a lot of sense for us right now."
NOTES: SIU is 5-0 for the first time since 2015-16 (also 5-0) ... The last time SIU was 6-0 to start a season was 2003-04 ... SIU won its eight-straight non-conference home game. SIU is 16-3 at Banterra Center under head coach Bryan Mullins and 21-4 at home since Jan. 23, 2019 ... SIU improved to 5-1 all-time against North Dakota ... SIU is 11-1 when it has 15+ assists under Mullins (3-0 this year).
Team Stats
UND
SIU
FG%
.365
.442
3FG%
.273
.273
FT%
.400
.909
RB
32
37
TO
13
16
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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