Monday, January 25
Terre Haute, Ind.
6 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
7-4,1-4MVC
66
at
69
Indiana State
7-7,4-5MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
33
33
66
Indiana St.
34
35
69
Shorthanded Salukis nearly pull off upset at Indiana State
01/25/2021 | 8:55:00 | Men's Basketball
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - After a 21-day COVID layoff, and without All-Conference forward Marcus Domask, the SIU men's basketball team took Indiana State to the wire before falling 69-66 on Monday night at Hulman Center.
The Salukis (7-4, 1-4 MVC), who only had one practice with more than six scholarship players available over the last three weeks, took Indiana State's best punches and threw some back.
Playing without Domask, the team's leading scorer who is week-to-week with a foot injury, SIU never trailed by more than four points at any point and led for more than 22 minutes of the game. But in the back-and-forth battle that featured nine ties and 13 lead changes, the Sycamores (7-7, 4-5 MVC) got the win from an unlikely hero; Tre Williams, who had only attempted five 3-pointers all season, hit one with 75 seconds to play that gave Indiana State the lead it wouldn't relinquish.
"Give credit to Tre. It was a great shot and he stepped up and made it," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "There are some things you have to live with as a coach. You can't take away everything."
Southern's effort throughout the game made an impression on Sycamore head coach Greg Lansing.
"Sometimes, as a coach, you win a game and feel like you lost. I kinda feel that way," Lansing said. "I'm glad our staff and guys were energized because you need to celebrate and appreciate every win you get in the league, but give Southern Illinois a lot of credit. I thought they controlled the game at both ends of the floor for the majority of the time. We were just fortunate to come back and get the win. But they took it to us. They were the more aggressive, more physical, harder-playing team. They ran their stuff tremendously on offense. We told the guys: We know they're going to play hard -- really hard. I was very, very impressed with Southern Illinois tonight."
Without Domask, who was averaging more than 16 points per game this year, Lance Jones led the way with a game-high 25 points for SIU. Kyler Filewich and Steven Verplancken Jr., who each made his first start for the Salukis, both made the most of the opportunity. Filewich scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Verplancken added 11 points, including three first-half 3-pointers.
"Everyone who came in today contributed," Mullins said. "We have guys who haven't practiced in 2-3 weeks. For them to come out and play the way they did, I'm proud of the group and their effort, for sure. I know what type of team we have. It's a team built on character and a team built on a bunch of winners. If they're going to play in a game, they're going to come ready to compete. Some of these guys had one practice -- yesterday was our first practice with more that six guys. I told the guys, 'You only get 30 game days out of 365 days, so take advantage of it. Enjoy it. Compete at a high level.' And that's what these guys did."
UP NEXT: SIU has its shortest turnaround of the season, with tomorrow's game at Indiana State starting at 4 p.m. CT, just 22 hours after the tipoff of tonight's game.
NOTES: SIU won bench points 13-0 (SIU held Indiana State's bench to 0-for-8 from the field ... All but 2:22 of the second half was played within one possession, either way (+/- 3 points) ... Filewich's 12 points were a career high ... Jakolby Long, who had been out with an injury, played for the first time since December 18 ... The Salukis won points in the paint 36-32 ... Indiana State held a 17-6 advantage in free throw attempts ... Lance Jones' 25 points were a season high, and it was his fourth career 20+ point game.
The Salukis (7-4, 1-4 MVC), who only had one practice with more than six scholarship players available over the last three weeks, took Indiana State's best punches and threw some back.
Playing without Domask, the team's leading scorer who is week-to-week with a foot injury, SIU never trailed by more than four points at any point and led for more than 22 minutes of the game. But in the back-and-forth battle that featured nine ties and 13 lead changes, the Sycamores (7-7, 4-5 MVC) got the win from an unlikely hero; Tre Williams, who had only attempted five 3-pointers all season, hit one with 75 seconds to play that gave Indiana State the lead it wouldn't relinquish.
"Give credit to Tre. It was a great shot and he stepped up and made it," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "There are some things you have to live with as a coach. You can't take away everything."
Southern's effort throughout the game made an impression on Sycamore head coach Greg Lansing.
"Sometimes, as a coach, you win a game and feel like you lost. I kinda feel that way," Lansing said. "I'm glad our staff and guys were energized because you need to celebrate and appreciate every win you get in the league, but give Southern Illinois a lot of credit. I thought they controlled the game at both ends of the floor for the majority of the time. We were just fortunate to come back and get the win. But they took it to us. They were the more aggressive, more physical, harder-playing team. They ran their stuff tremendously on offense. We told the guys: We know they're going to play hard -- really hard. I was very, very impressed with Southern Illinois tonight."
Without Domask, who was averaging more than 16 points per game this year, Lance Jones led the way with a game-high 25 points for SIU. Kyler Filewich and Steven Verplancken Jr., who each made his first start for the Salukis, both made the most of the opportunity. Filewich scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Verplancken added 11 points, including three first-half 3-pointers.
"Everyone who came in today contributed," Mullins said. "We have guys who haven't practiced in 2-3 weeks. For them to come out and play the way they did, I'm proud of the group and their effort, for sure. I know what type of team we have. It's a team built on character and a team built on a bunch of winners. If they're going to play in a game, they're going to come ready to compete. Some of these guys had one practice -- yesterday was our first practice with more that six guys. I told the guys, 'You only get 30 game days out of 365 days, so take advantage of it. Enjoy it. Compete at a high level.' And that's what these guys did."
UP NEXT: SIU has its shortest turnaround of the season, with tomorrow's game at Indiana State starting at 4 p.m. CT, just 22 hours after the tipoff of tonight's game.
NOTES: SIU won bench points 13-0 (SIU held Indiana State's bench to 0-for-8 from the field ... All but 2:22 of the second half was played within one possession, either way (+/- 3 points) ... Filewich's 12 points were a career high ... Jakolby Long, who had been out with an injury, played for the first time since December 18 ... The Salukis won points in the paint 36-32 ... Indiana State held a 17-6 advantage in free throw attempts ... Lance Jones' 25 points were a season high, and it was his fourth career 20+ point game.
Team Stats
SIU
ISU
FG%
.491
.500
3FG%
.364
.313
FT%
.667
.824
RB
23
33
TO
15
16
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball10.15.25 | Saluki Radio Football Podcast - North Dakota
Thursday, October 16
John & Karyn Forbes - Big Dawg Leadership Society
Wednesday, October 15
Inside Saluki Athletics - October 14th
Wednesday, October 15
10.14.25 | Coach Nick Hill Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, October 14