Saturday, December 18
Carbondale, Ill.
3 PM
Southern Illinois University
7-4,1-0MVC
75
vs
55
Maryville
7-4,2-1GLVC
1
2
F
Maryville (MO)
25
30
55
Southern Ill.
37
38
75
Men's Basketball cruises past Maryville, 75-55
12/18/2021 | 5:25:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois made six-straight shots to end the first half and nine more to start the second, turning a two-point game into a 25-point lead, during a 75-55 blowout of Maryville on Saturday.
Five players scored in double figures for the Salukis (7-4), who won their 13th-straight non-conference home game and improved to 5-0 at the Banterra Center this season.
SIU head coach Bryan Mullins took the opportunity against the Division II Saints (7-4) to spread minutes throughout his roster. Star guard Lance Jones, who is nursing a toe injury, was available but given the day off to rest up for next Wednesday's game at unbeaten San Francisco.
"I wanted to play the right way, first and foremost, and hold ourselves to our own standard," Mullins said. "I thought our guys did that."
Mullins experimented with different lineups throughout the game. At one point in the first half, SIU had three bigs on the floor, plus 6-foot-7 wing Ben Coupet.
"I wanted to see some defensive things that we can implement for after-Christmas into Valley play," he explained. "Seeing how guys guard different actions, and then offensively, working on post passing and high-low entries. Defensively, some of those guys weren't used to playing with each other, so our connection on the defensive side was hurt a little bit, but the guys competed."
The Salukis had a season-high 22 assists on 28 baskets, as the offense continues to show signs of growth. In the last three games, SIU has averaged nearly 20 assists per contest.
"I feel like we're getting better on both ends of the floor," said Coupet, who had a couple highlight-reel dunks and led Southern with 16 points. "I feel by mid-January, into February and tournament play, I feel we'll be at a high level."
Starting in place of Jones, sophomore point Dalton Banks had a season-high 10 points and six assists.
"I thought he played with good confidence and it was good to see him shoot the ball well," Mullins said. "In the second half he had much better pace and was able to get downhill and push the ball in transition for us."
Banks had assists on three-straight possessions during Southern's big second-half run, dishing to center Kyler Filewich for a pair of layups and finding Steven Verplancken for an open three.
"I'm starting to feel confident again," Banks said. "I didn't have the greatest start to the year, but I've been getting in the gym extra, trying to get out of my funk a little bit."
Filewich made all five of his shot attempts and finished with 12 points — his second-straight game with a dozen points off the bench.
"He's competitive when he gets the ball down there," Mullins said. "We have to keep finding ways to get him the ball in position to be successful. Points in the paint allows the shooters to have more space when he kicks it out, as well."
Southern limited the Saints to 39 percent shooting on the day and has now held seven of its 11 opponents to less than 60 points.
Five players scored in double figures for the Salukis (7-4), who won their 13th-straight non-conference home game and improved to 5-0 at the Banterra Center this season.
SIU head coach Bryan Mullins took the opportunity against the Division II Saints (7-4) to spread minutes throughout his roster. Star guard Lance Jones, who is nursing a toe injury, was available but given the day off to rest up for next Wednesday's game at unbeaten San Francisco.
"I wanted to play the right way, first and foremost, and hold ourselves to our own standard," Mullins said. "I thought our guys did that."
Mullins experimented with different lineups throughout the game. At one point in the first half, SIU had three bigs on the floor, plus 6-foot-7 wing Ben Coupet.
"I wanted to see some defensive things that we can implement for after-Christmas into Valley play," he explained. "Seeing how guys guard different actions, and then offensively, working on post passing and high-low entries. Defensively, some of those guys weren't used to playing with each other, so our connection on the defensive side was hurt a little bit, but the guys competed."
The Salukis had a season-high 22 assists on 28 baskets, as the offense continues to show signs of growth. In the last three games, SIU has averaged nearly 20 assists per contest.
"I feel like we're getting better on both ends of the floor," said Coupet, who had a couple highlight-reel dunks and led Southern with 16 points. "I feel by mid-January, into February and tournament play, I feel we'll be at a high level."
Starting in place of Jones, sophomore point Dalton Banks had a season-high 10 points and six assists.
"I thought he played with good confidence and it was good to see him shoot the ball well," Mullins said. "In the second half he had much better pace and was able to get downhill and push the ball in transition for us."
Banks had assists on three-straight possessions during Southern's big second-half run, dishing to center Kyler Filewich for a pair of layups and finding Steven Verplancken for an open three.
"I'm starting to feel confident again," Banks said. "I didn't have the greatest start to the year, but I've been getting in the gym extra, trying to get out of my funk a little bit."
Filewich made all five of his shot attempts and finished with 12 points — his second-straight game with a dozen points off the bench.
"He's competitive when he gets the ball down there," Mullins said. "We have to keep finding ways to get him the ball in position to be successful. Points in the paint allows the shooters to have more space when he kicks it out, as well."
Southern limited the Saints to 39 percent shooting on the day and has now held seven of its 11 opponents to less than 60 points.
Team Stats
Mary
SIU
FG%
.393
.583
3FG%
.263
.423
FT%
.462
.667
RB
26
35
TO
9
13
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball9.24.25 | Saluki Football Podcast - Bye Week
Thursday, September 25
9.24.25 | Saluki Chats in Chevies - DJ Williams
Wednesday, September 24
Inside Saluki Athletics - September 23rd
Wednesday, September 24
9.15.25 | Saluki Spotlight Presented by SIU Alumni Association: Penny Warner (Soccer)
Wednesday, September 24