Thursday, February 20
Carbondale, Ill.
7 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
16-12,10-5MVC
70
vs
53
Evansville
9-19,0-15MVC
1
2
F
Evansville
37
16
53
Southern Ill.
40
30
70
Photo by: T.H. Weber
SIU surges past Evansville, 70-53
02/20/2020 | 9:29:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The SIU men's basketball team shot a season-high 65.8% and held Evansville to 16 second-half points in a 70-53 win over the Aces on Thursday night at Banterra Center.
With 11 minutes to play, SIU (16-12, 10-5 MVC) held a slim 49-46 lead. The Salukis held Evansville (9-19, 0-15 MVC) without a field goal for nine-straight minutes to turn a three-point close game into a 17-point rout.
"I'm proud of the guys for the way they played in the second half," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "Offensively, we were pretty good throughout the game. Defensively, we needed to play better in the second half, and the guys responded again. They did a really good job trying to keep the ball out of the paint. Everyone who played contributed. We have to continue to play that way, and we have to continue to get better in this final stretch."
The first half was a back-and-forth offensive display. The Salukis shot 15-of-20 in the first half -- good for the seventh-best field goal shooting half in SIU history. But Evansville shot 56% from field and was within three at the half, 40-37.
In the second half, SIU's offense stayed hot, shooting 56%, and its defense turned around. The Salukis held Evansville to 21% shooting in the second half, including 1-for-13 from the 3-point line (7.7%). SIU held Evansville to just 16 second-half points, the fewest points SIU has allowed in a second half vs. a Division I opponent since 1996.
Marcus Domask led SIU with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and he added 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Eric McGill had 18 points and 4 rebounds, and Lance Jones scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Barret Benson added 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting while batting foul trouble. The Salukis were good from deep, shooting 5-of-12 (42%) from the 3-point line. But SIU was dominant in the paint, going 20-of-26 (77%) from two-point range in the game.
"It started with Eric," Mullins said. "He did a good job in the first half getting downhill. Marcus and Barret did a good job. I thought our guys did a good job not settling tonight. We didn't take the shot they wanted us to take; we really drove it hard and made good decisions when we got to the paint. We have to continue to play that way and be aggressive on offense like that."
Evansville was welcoming back its star forward, DeAndre Williams, who had missed the last 12 games with a back injury. But Williams battled foul trouble all night. He picked up his second foul just two minutes into the first half, and then picked up two more fouls in the first 90 seconds of the second half. Williams -- who averaged 17 points on 70% shooting before his injury -- was held to just 8 points in 15 minutes.
But while all eyes were on Williams and his return, the Salukis did an outstanding job on Evansville stars KJ Riley and Sam Cunliffe. Riley, who scored 24 points for Evansville in the first matchup against SIU, was held to 10 points on 12 shots. Cunliffe was coming off a 25-point performance in Evansville's near-win over Drake. But SIU held him to 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting and 0-of-5 from 3-point range.
As has become the norm, another outstanding crowd jammed into Banterra Center; the Salukis played in front of 5,466 on a Thursday night. And as has become his norm, Mullins started his press conference by appreciating the fans who have helped SIU get to a 12-2 home record this season.
"I want to thank the community and the students for coming out a again, making Banterra Center such a great atmosphere," Mullins said. "It makes such a difference to have that place filled. Our guys love playing in it, and it just gives them energy. We have one more home game; hopefully, we can get everyone back for Senior Night."
The win gave SIU its eighth win in the last 10 games. The Salukis, who were picked last in the preseason MVC poll, are just one game behind co-leaders Loyola and Northern Iowa with three games to play.
UP NEXT: SIU travels to MVC co-leader Northern Iowa on Sunday for a 1 p.m. game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
NOTES: SIU improved to 6-0 when scoring 70+ points this season ... SIU shot 25-of-38 from the field (66%), the eight-best field goal percentage in school history ... The game's 13 lead changes tied SIU's game at Murray State for the most lead changes in an SIU game this season ... SIU secured its third-straight winning season in the MVC and fifth-straight season at .500 or better in MVC play ... SIU swept Evansville in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005 ... SIU is 12-2 at Banterra Center and has won 11 of its last 12 home games ... Marcus Domask became the third SIU player ever to score 400+ points as a true freshman (the others: Charlie Vaughn in 1958 and Kent Williams in 2000) ... SIU's 10 MVC wins are tied for the most ever by a team picked last in the preseason MVC poll (In 2018, Drake also won 10).
With 11 minutes to play, SIU (16-12, 10-5 MVC) held a slim 49-46 lead. The Salukis held Evansville (9-19, 0-15 MVC) without a field goal for nine-straight minutes to turn a three-point close game into a 17-point rout.
"I'm proud of the guys for the way they played in the second half," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "Offensively, we were pretty good throughout the game. Defensively, we needed to play better in the second half, and the guys responded again. They did a really good job trying to keep the ball out of the paint. Everyone who played contributed. We have to continue to play that way, and we have to continue to get better in this final stretch."
The first half was a back-and-forth offensive display. The Salukis shot 15-of-20 in the first half -- good for the seventh-best field goal shooting half in SIU history. But Evansville shot 56% from field and was within three at the half, 40-37.
In the second half, SIU's offense stayed hot, shooting 56%, and its defense turned around. The Salukis held Evansville to 21% shooting in the second half, including 1-for-13 from the 3-point line (7.7%). SIU held Evansville to just 16 second-half points, the fewest points SIU has allowed in a second half vs. a Division I opponent since 1996.
Marcus Domask led SIU with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and he added 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Eric McGill had 18 points and 4 rebounds, and Lance Jones scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Barret Benson added 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting while batting foul trouble. The Salukis were good from deep, shooting 5-of-12 (42%) from the 3-point line. But SIU was dominant in the paint, going 20-of-26 (77%) from two-point range in the game.
"It started with Eric," Mullins said. "He did a good job in the first half getting downhill. Marcus and Barret did a good job. I thought our guys did a good job not settling tonight. We didn't take the shot they wanted us to take; we really drove it hard and made good decisions when we got to the paint. We have to continue to play that way and be aggressive on offense like that."
Evansville was welcoming back its star forward, DeAndre Williams, who had missed the last 12 games with a back injury. But Williams battled foul trouble all night. He picked up his second foul just two minutes into the first half, and then picked up two more fouls in the first 90 seconds of the second half. Williams -- who averaged 17 points on 70% shooting before his injury -- was held to just 8 points in 15 minutes.
But while all eyes were on Williams and his return, the Salukis did an outstanding job on Evansville stars KJ Riley and Sam Cunliffe. Riley, who scored 24 points for Evansville in the first matchup against SIU, was held to 10 points on 12 shots. Cunliffe was coming off a 25-point performance in Evansville's near-win over Drake. But SIU held him to 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting and 0-of-5 from 3-point range.
As has become the norm, another outstanding crowd jammed into Banterra Center; the Salukis played in front of 5,466 on a Thursday night. And as has become his norm, Mullins started his press conference by appreciating the fans who have helped SIU get to a 12-2 home record this season.
"I want to thank the community and the students for coming out a again, making Banterra Center such a great atmosphere," Mullins said. "It makes such a difference to have that place filled. Our guys love playing in it, and it just gives them energy. We have one more home game; hopefully, we can get everyone back for Senior Night."
The win gave SIU its eighth win in the last 10 games. The Salukis, who were picked last in the preseason MVC poll, are just one game behind co-leaders Loyola and Northern Iowa with three games to play.
UP NEXT: SIU travels to MVC co-leader Northern Iowa on Sunday for a 1 p.m. game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
NOTES: SIU improved to 6-0 when scoring 70+ points this season ... SIU shot 25-of-38 from the field (66%), the eight-best field goal percentage in school history ... The game's 13 lead changes tied SIU's game at Murray State for the most lead changes in an SIU game this season ... SIU secured its third-straight winning season in the MVC and fifth-straight season at .500 or better in MVC play ... SIU swept Evansville in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005 ... SIU is 12-2 at Banterra Center and has won 11 of its last 12 home games ... Marcus Domask became the third SIU player ever to score 400+ points as a true freshman (the others: Charlie Vaughn in 1958 and Kent Williams in 2000) ... SIU's 10 MVC wins are tied for the most ever by a team picked last in the preseason MVC poll (In 2018, Drake also won 10).
Team Stats
Evans
SIU
FG%
.382
.658
3FG%
.227
.417
FT%
.750
.682
RB
27
26
TO
9
11
STL
5
3
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
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