Southern Illinois University
3-3,0-0MVC
Alcorn State
0-5,0-0SWAC
Salukis overcome 17-point deficit to stun Braves, 62-59
11/26/2021 | 10:25:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University men's basketball team overcame a 17-point deficit with a huge second half to beat Alcorn State 62-59 on Friday night at SIU Arena.Â
"Im proud of the guys for fighting back and am proud of their response," head coach Bryan Mullins said. "We had to find a way to win that game. We talked about it throughout the game- there are no ten point baskets. The second half was all about character. It was about our guys stepping up and answering the challenge. They understood that we weren't playing well. We made enough plays at the end to pull it out. We have to take this game, learn from it, get a lot better and look ahead to a huge challenge in Evansville on Wednesday."
SIU trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half and went into halftime trailing by 14. The Salukis held Alcorn State (0-5) scoreless for a seven minute stretch from the 12 minute mark of the second half until just over five minutes to play that helped to ignite an improbable rally that saw the Salukis outscore the Braves 40-23 in the second half alone.
"He talked about wanting it," Domask said of Mullins halftime speech. "Alcorn wanted it more in the first half. They were outplaying us. Coach's message was that they were playing harder than us. He also told us that the second half was a character half and that we would learn a lot about our team in that half."
Southern had lost back-to-back games for the first time this season and appeared headed for a third-straight defeat, but the offensive tandem of Lance Jones and Marcus Domask, coupled with a monstrous defensive effort, helped turn what was a 17-point deficit into a three-point win.
SIU's offense struggled in the first half and trailed 30-13 with 5:39 to play in the first frame, but the Salukis clawed back to within 12 at the end of the half to get to within striking distance. To make matters worse, the Braves up-rebounded the Salukis, 21-to-12 in the first half and turned the ball over just three times while forcing seven SIU turnovers.
"These guys love to represent this university," Mullins said. "There is a lot of pride when you put the Saluki jersey on. No one should come into our arena and out-rebound us, play with more energy and more enthusiasm then us. So I told them that this next half Im going to play the five that play the hardest and who wants to win the most. Everyone who was out on the court stepped up and we got stop after stop that allowed us to get downhill."
Southern came out in the second half with a smothering defense that got the Saluki faithful on their feet. Jones knocked down a three on one of the floor, got the steal and then worked the ball around to Domask, who hit a three of his own to get SIU to within single digits, 49-41. The Salukis poured in another six points to cut their deficit down to two at the under eight media timeout.
SIU's offense stalled momentarily until a driving layup by Jones gave SIU the lead with just over two minutes to play. After Alcorn State answered with a three and a pair of free throws to go ahead, 59-56 with just under :30 to play, Jones scored the final six points to ice the game for the Salukis, with no bigger basket then with :14 to play. With J.D. Mulia tightly guarding the inbounds passer, Jones came away with a steal and went up for a layup to tie the contest at 59-all. Mulia later missed a pair of free throws but Jones was there to snag an offensive board and put it back in to give SIU the lead for good.
Domask led SIU with 24 points, of which 20 came in the second half, while Jones finished with 21 points, four steals and four rebounds. Steven Verplancken and Ben Coupet Jr. each chipped in six points.
SIU opens league play on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at Evansville. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
