Tuesday, January 26
Terre Haute, Ind.
4 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
7-5,1-5MVC
59
at
71
Indiana State
8-7,5-5MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
29
30
59
Indiana St.
31
40
71
Salukis run out of gas in 71-59 loss at Indiana State
01/26/2021 | 7:10:00 | Men's Basketball
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Playing shorthanded in the second game of a back-to-back, the SIU men's basketball team faded in the second half in a 71-59 loss to Indiana State on Tuesday evening at Hulman Center.
"Give credit to Indiana State and Coach Lansing," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "They're playing extremely well. I think they're one of the top teams in our league. They have a great combination of great guards and posts who can score the ball. They did a great job defensively, especially in the second half. We need to do a better job taking care of the ball and executing our sets. I thought we had some good looks and our guards were able to get downhill. We were able to get into the double-bonus with 10 minutes left in the second half. We just have to make good paint touch decisions when we do get downhill."
SIU (7-5, 1-5 MVC) came out with the same intensity that the Salukis brought to yesterday's game and led for most of the first half. Indiana State (8-7, 5-5 MVC) climbed out of a six-point first-half deficit to take a 31-29 halftime lead on a last-second putback.
The Salukis, who were without Marcus Domask (foot injury) and still recovering from a 21-day COVID pause, couldn't keep pace in the second half. The Sycamores pushed the lead to double figures by the nine-minute mark and were never truly threatened after that. One possible symptom of SIU running out of gas: The Salukis were 2-for-8 from the free throw line in the first 11 minutes of the second half, while Indiana State pushed a tie game to a 14-point lead.
Kyler Filewich, who was named the MVC's Newcomer of the Week prior to today's game, ended up a rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and a career-best nine rebounds.
"Kyler is going to keep getting better every single year that he's a Saluki," Mullins said. "He's only been playing basketball full-time for a year and a half. His best basketball is ahead of him. He's getting more comfortable. The Valley is a hard league for freshmen. It's a physical league; it's a veteran league. He did some good things these past two days."
Filewich, facing two of the league's better bigs in Indiana State's Jake LaRavia and Tre Williams, held his own and ended up with 22 points and 13 rebounds over 49 minutes in the two-game series. He became SIU's first freshman center to earn the MVC's Newcomer of the Week award since Gene Teague in 2010.
"He isn't the biggest, but he's a physical presence," Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing said. "He's smart. He's unselfish. You can't guard him one-on-one because he gets right to the front of the rim. He works his tail off defensively. He's perfect for what Bryan and that staff want him to do. I'm very impressed with him. Going into the game, you're worried about a (Marcus) Domask, who didn't end up playing, and a (Lance) Jones, but that guy (Filewich) is going to be right there on everybody's scouting report."
SIU had reasons to make excuses after the loss. The Salukis were without two potential starters with Domask and J.D. Muila, who is missing the season with a knee injury. SIU is the ninth-youngest team in the nation and getting 90% of its scoring from freshmen and sophomores. And some players who played in the game had zero or just one practice prior to the back-to-back and are just starting the process of getting back in shape. But instead, SIU showed an appreciation for the ability to play again after a three-week break between games.
"It was good to play games," Mullins said. "I'm looking forward to practices, which we haven't had a lot of. It was good to get out there and compete again. For Steven and Kyler to play a bunch of minutes, and for all the guys to keep getting more practices and games, hopefully we can continue to get better and be playing our best basketball at the end of February and heading into March."
Despite the two losses, SIU showed flashes of the hard-nosed team that they will become in the months and years ahead. A day after saying that he felt SIU was the "more aggressive, more physical, harder-playing team," Lansing had more praise for the Salukis today.
"One thing I commend Southern for doing: When they are on the ball (defensively), they continue to fight and fight and fight," Lansing said. "If Tyreke (Key) is driving, they show the officials their hands. They're not fouling. They're very physical and they don't give in."
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Northern Iowa on Saturday and Sunday at Banterra Center.
"Give credit to Indiana State and Coach Lansing," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "They're playing extremely well. I think they're one of the top teams in our league. They have a great combination of great guards and posts who can score the ball. They did a great job defensively, especially in the second half. We need to do a better job taking care of the ball and executing our sets. I thought we had some good looks and our guards were able to get downhill. We were able to get into the double-bonus with 10 minutes left in the second half. We just have to make good paint touch decisions when we do get downhill."
SIU (7-5, 1-5 MVC) came out with the same intensity that the Salukis brought to yesterday's game and led for most of the first half. Indiana State (8-7, 5-5 MVC) climbed out of a six-point first-half deficit to take a 31-29 halftime lead on a last-second putback.
The Salukis, who were without Marcus Domask (foot injury) and still recovering from a 21-day COVID pause, couldn't keep pace in the second half. The Sycamores pushed the lead to double figures by the nine-minute mark and were never truly threatened after that. One possible symptom of SIU running out of gas: The Salukis were 2-for-8 from the free throw line in the first 11 minutes of the second half, while Indiana State pushed a tie game to a 14-point lead.
Kyler Filewich, who was named the MVC's Newcomer of the Week prior to today's game, ended up a rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and a career-best nine rebounds.
"Kyler is going to keep getting better every single year that he's a Saluki," Mullins said. "He's only been playing basketball full-time for a year and a half. His best basketball is ahead of him. He's getting more comfortable. The Valley is a hard league for freshmen. It's a physical league; it's a veteran league. He did some good things these past two days."
Filewich, facing two of the league's better bigs in Indiana State's Jake LaRavia and Tre Williams, held his own and ended up with 22 points and 13 rebounds over 49 minutes in the two-game series. He became SIU's first freshman center to earn the MVC's Newcomer of the Week award since Gene Teague in 2010.
"He isn't the biggest, but he's a physical presence," Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing said. "He's smart. He's unselfish. You can't guard him one-on-one because he gets right to the front of the rim. He works his tail off defensively. He's perfect for what Bryan and that staff want him to do. I'm very impressed with him. Going into the game, you're worried about a (Marcus) Domask, who didn't end up playing, and a (Lance) Jones, but that guy (Filewich) is going to be right there on everybody's scouting report."
SIU had reasons to make excuses after the loss. The Salukis were without two potential starters with Domask and J.D. Muila, who is missing the season with a knee injury. SIU is the ninth-youngest team in the nation and getting 90% of its scoring from freshmen and sophomores. And some players who played in the game had zero or just one practice prior to the back-to-back and are just starting the process of getting back in shape. But instead, SIU showed an appreciation for the ability to play again after a three-week break between games.
"It was good to play games," Mullins said. "I'm looking forward to practices, which we haven't had a lot of. It was good to get out there and compete again. For Steven and Kyler to play a bunch of minutes, and for all the guys to keep getting more practices and games, hopefully we can continue to get better and be playing our best basketball at the end of February and heading into March."
Despite the two losses, SIU showed flashes of the hard-nosed team that they will become in the months and years ahead. A day after saying that he felt SIU was the "more aggressive, more physical, harder-playing team," Lansing had more praise for the Salukis today.
"One thing I commend Southern for doing: When they are on the ball (defensively), they continue to fight and fight and fight," Lansing said. "If Tyreke (Key) is driving, they show the officials their hands. They're not fouling. They're very physical and they don't give in."
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Northern Iowa on Saturday and Sunday at Banterra Center.
Team Stats
SIU
ISU
FG%
.377
.489
3FG%
.276
.444
FT%
.579
.654
RB
32
33
TO
12
13
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
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