Wednesday, December 1
Evansville, Ind.
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
4-3,1-0MVC
54
at
52
Evansville
3-7,0-1MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
32
22
54
Evansville
17
35
52
Marcus Domask hits game-winner to beat Evansville, 54-52
12/01/2021 | 8:34:00 | Men's Basketball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Marcus Domask hit a fadeaway 12-footer with 0.6 seconds remaining, lifting Southern Illinois to a 54-52 win at Evansville on Wednesday night.
The Salukis (4-3, 1-0) never trailed in the game and led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but the Purple Aces (3-7, 0-1) chipped away behind an electric performance by guard Shamar Givance, who scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half.
Evansville tied the game twice in the final minute, but each time, Domask had the answer. After the Purple Aces evened the score at 50, Domask backed Noah Frederking into the right block, spun and banked in a shot with 33 seconds left to put SIU ahead, 52-50.
Givance countered with a floater in the lane that rimmed in with 14 seconds to go, tying it, 52-52.
After a timeout, the Salukis isolated Domask on the left baseline. A jab step gave him separation from the defender, Jawaun Newton, before Domask launched a jumper that caught nothing but nylon.
"Right off the hand, I knew it had a good chance," said Domask, who led SIU with 22 points. "It went in, the bench went crazy."
The early-season league game offered fans a sneak peak at Missouri Valley Conference action, and several hundred SIU faithful on hand had to like what they saw from a team that played without its leading scorer, Lance Jones, who missed the game with an injury.
The Salukis jumped out to a 13-0 advantage and held Evansville scoreless for the first seven-and-half minutes.
"Special first-half defensively," said SIU head coach Bryan Mullins. "Everyone was locked in, everyone was in a stance, contesting everything. The switches, the communication was great. In the second half, we got a little extended, but that first-half lead was the reason we won tonight."
Without Jones, the Salukis needed someone to pick up the scoring slack, and Ben Coupet answered the call with a career-high 13 points and a couple of key buckets late in the game.
"Ben came out and was assertive right from the start," Mullins said. "Defensively, his length and his activity really bothered Evansville. He was crucial for us to win tonight."
A 6-foot-7 wing, Coupet was 4-of-5 from the field in the first half with nine points.
"The offense was clicking, we came out ready to play," he said. "A couple times this season, we came out slow. We wanted to come out for the first game of conference with energy."
Another hero for Southern was true freshman forward Troy D'Amico, who had five points in a career-high 29 minutes. He was a key defensive presence late in the game, including a possession when he denied Givance and helped force a shot-clock violation with under two minutes to play.
"Troy brings some physicality, some toughness to us," Mullins said. "To play in this type of environment in his first Valley game and come up big is huge for us."
All 10 league teams play their MVC openers this week, before the Valley slate resumes on Jan. 2.
"I was really proud of our guys' poise," Mullins said. "There's so many possession-by-possession games in the Valley, and to pull the first one out gives us momentum heading into the conference season."
The Salukis return home to play Southern Miss on Saturday at 8 p.m. in an MVC-Conference USA matchup.
The Salukis (4-3, 1-0) never trailed in the game and led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but the Purple Aces (3-7, 0-1) chipped away behind an electric performance by guard Shamar Givance, who scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half.
Evansville tied the game twice in the final minute, but each time, Domask had the answer. After the Purple Aces evened the score at 50, Domask backed Noah Frederking into the right block, spun and banked in a shot with 33 seconds left to put SIU ahead, 52-50.
Givance countered with a floater in the lane that rimmed in with 14 seconds to go, tying it, 52-52.
After a timeout, the Salukis isolated Domask on the left baseline. A jab step gave him separation from the defender, Jawaun Newton, before Domask launched a jumper that caught nothing but nylon.
"Right off the hand, I knew it had a good chance," said Domask, who led SIU with 22 points. "It went in, the bench went crazy."
The early-season league game offered fans a sneak peak at Missouri Valley Conference action, and several hundred SIU faithful on hand had to like what they saw from a team that played without its leading scorer, Lance Jones, who missed the game with an injury.
The Salukis jumped out to a 13-0 advantage and held Evansville scoreless for the first seven-and-half minutes.
"Special first-half defensively," said SIU head coach Bryan Mullins. "Everyone was locked in, everyone was in a stance, contesting everything. The switches, the communication was great. In the second half, we got a little extended, but that first-half lead was the reason we won tonight."
Without Jones, the Salukis needed someone to pick up the scoring slack, and Ben Coupet answered the call with a career-high 13 points and a couple of key buckets late in the game.
"Ben came out and was assertive right from the start," Mullins said. "Defensively, his length and his activity really bothered Evansville. He was crucial for us to win tonight."
A 6-foot-7 wing, Coupet was 4-of-5 from the field in the first half with nine points.
"The offense was clicking, we came out ready to play," he said. "A couple times this season, we came out slow. We wanted to come out for the first game of conference with energy."
Another hero for Southern was true freshman forward Troy D'Amico, who had five points in a career-high 29 minutes. He was a key defensive presence late in the game, including a possession when he denied Givance and helped force a shot-clock violation with under two minutes to play.
"Troy brings some physicality, some toughness to us," Mullins said. "To play in this type of environment in his first Valley game and come up big is huge for us."
All 10 league teams play their MVC openers this week, before the Valley slate resumes on Jan. 2.
"I was really proud of our guys' poise," Mullins said. "There's so many possession-by-possession games in the Valley, and to pull the first one out gives us momentum heading into the conference season."
The Salukis return home to play Southern Miss on Saturday at 8 p.m. in an MVC-Conference USA matchup.
Team Stats
SIU
Evans
FG%
.500
.452
3FG%
.300
.389
FT%
1.000
.700
RB
25
22
TO
7
6
STL
2
1
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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11.22.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at #11 Illinois State - Colin Bohanek
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