Tuesday, December 28
Carbondale, Ill.
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
8-5,1-0MVC
75
vs
64
Grambling State
3-10,0-0SWAC
1
2
F
Grambling
25
39
64
Southern Ill.
41
34
75
Men's Basketball extends home winning streak with win over Grambling State
12/28/2021 | 9:45:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois extended its home winning streak to seven games with a 75-64 win over Grambling State on Tuesday night.
The Salukis (8-5) trailed only briefly at the onset of the game and led by double digits the final 35 minutes. Much of the offensive work was done at the free throw line, where SIU was 28-of-37.
Marcus Domask scored 24 points to pace Southern, while Ben Coupet Jr. (17) and Lance Jones (12) also scored in double figures.
The game served as a final tuneup before SIU plays its Missouri Valley Conference home opener against Loyola on Sunday at 4 p.m.
"Just coming back from Christmas break, having a game before conference play starts was really beneficial," said SIU head coach Bryan Mullins.
Southern was clearly the superior team, building a 41-25 halftime advantage. Its trademark stingy defense held the Tigers (3-10) to just 11 first half field goals and no 3-pointers.
The Salukis pushed the lead to 20 points, 61-41, with 8:31 remaining in the game, but a combination of Grambling's full-court press and SIU shooting 31 percent in the second half resulted in just an 11-point victory.
"There was a lot of stoppage, a lot of fouls," Mullins said. "The momentum and rhythm of the game was kind of thrown off balance, but our guys did what we needed to do to win."
Domask said working against Grambling's press will help the Salukis prep for Valley late-game situations.
"Coach got a good glimpse of how we handle pressure," he said. "We have a lot to look at and improve on going forward.
The game marked the return of junior guard Trent Brown, who missed the first 12 games of the season with a back injury. He came off the bench to play 18 minutes and made a pair of 3-pointers.
"Any time you get to play in this arena, it's a special feeling," Brown said. "It felt really good to be out there with my teammates. Personally, there's a lot of things I could've done better, but we got the win."
"The guys love playing with him," said Mullins. "He gives us great energy, great competitiveness. He does a good job with our spacing and he stretches the floor."
Dalton Banks and Troy D'Amico did not dress for Southern tonight. Mullins said D'Amico is following COVID protocols and Banks was ill. The Salukis have yet to play a game with everyone healthy, as Jones, Ben Harvey and Anthony D'Avanzo have all missed games to date.
"We've had guys in and out throughout this non-conference," Mullins noted. "We're still finding out a little bit rotation-wise, identity even with this group. That's what's exciting about the next two months."
The Salukis have five days to prep for the defending champion Ramblers. Currently ranked No. 15 in the NET, Loyola will be highest rated team to visit Banterra Center since Wichita State on Feb. 17, 2015.
"Loyola's the favorite — we're aware of that,"Domask said. "It's a great opportunity for us. We want to protect the home court at all costs."
The Salukis (8-5) trailed only briefly at the onset of the game and led by double digits the final 35 minutes. Much of the offensive work was done at the free throw line, where SIU was 28-of-37.
Marcus Domask scored 24 points to pace Southern, while Ben Coupet Jr. (17) and Lance Jones (12) also scored in double figures.
The game served as a final tuneup before SIU plays its Missouri Valley Conference home opener against Loyola on Sunday at 4 p.m.
"Just coming back from Christmas break, having a game before conference play starts was really beneficial," said SIU head coach Bryan Mullins.
Southern was clearly the superior team, building a 41-25 halftime advantage. Its trademark stingy defense held the Tigers (3-10) to just 11 first half field goals and no 3-pointers.
The Salukis pushed the lead to 20 points, 61-41, with 8:31 remaining in the game, but a combination of Grambling's full-court press and SIU shooting 31 percent in the second half resulted in just an 11-point victory.
"There was a lot of stoppage, a lot of fouls," Mullins said. "The momentum and rhythm of the game was kind of thrown off balance, but our guys did what we needed to do to win."
Domask said working against Grambling's press will help the Salukis prep for Valley late-game situations.
"Coach got a good glimpse of how we handle pressure," he said. "We have a lot to look at and improve on going forward.
The game marked the return of junior guard Trent Brown, who missed the first 12 games of the season with a back injury. He came off the bench to play 18 minutes and made a pair of 3-pointers.
"Any time you get to play in this arena, it's a special feeling," Brown said. "It felt really good to be out there with my teammates. Personally, there's a lot of things I could've done better, but we got the win."
"The guys love playing with him," said Mullins. "He gives us great energy, great competitiveness. He does a good job with our spacing and he stretches the floor."
Dalton Banks and Troy D'Amico did not dress for Southern tonight. Mullins said D'Amico is following COVID protocols and Banks was ill. The Salukis have yet to play a game with everyone healthy, as Jones, Ben Harvey and Anthony D'Avanzo have all missed games to date.
"We've had guys in and out throughout this non-conference," Mullins noted. "We're still finding out a little bit rotation-wise, identity even with this group. That's what's exciting about the next two months."
The Salukis have five days to prep for the defending champion Ramblers. Currently ranked No. 15 in the NET, Loyola will be highest rated team to visit Banterra Center since Wichita State on Feb. 17, 2015.
"Loyola's the favorite — we're aware of that,"Domask said. "It's a great opportunity for us. We want to protect the home court at all costs."
Team Stats
GSU
SIU
FG%
.451
.345
3FG%
.200
.241
FT%
.800
.757
RB
31
44
TO
14
13
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
10
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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