Southern Illinois University
5-3,1-0MVC
Southern Miss
-45,00 CUSA
Salukis win third-straight with 66-41 victory over Southern Miss
12/04/2021 | 9:43:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University men's basketball team used a stifling defensive effort to win its third-straight game Saturday with a 66-41 victory over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles inside Banterra Center.
The Salukis used a 9-2 run to close out the first half and turned what was a one-possession game into a nine-point lead at the break. Southern quickly upped its lead to double-digits in the second half at which point SIU's defense took over, as it held the Golden Eagles without a field goal for the final nine minutes of the game.
"Im proud of our guys," head coach Bryan Mullins said. "I thought defensively that tonight was our most complete 40 minutes of this season. Our guys did a great job of sticking to the game plan. Southern Miss is a very athletic team and they do a great job on the offensive glass. We did a really good job rebounding tonight. Offensively we moved the ball the right way. We had some open shots that we didn't make but I was pleased overall. Everyone contributed and everyone had an impact."
SIU's defense filled passing lanes and made it difficult on Southern Miss all night. The Salukis held the Golden Eagles to 34-percent shooting, which included just 28-percent shooting in the second half. Southern also turned Southern Miss over 15 times and came away with a season-high 11 steals.
"Southern Miss made a couple of tough two-pointers but in the second half we didn't give them any easy shots," Mullins said. "They had a couple of guards make some step backs and we contested all of their passes, which was huge. That allowed us to create some turnovers and then get out and run in transition."
SIU shot 41.9-percent from the field, which included 51.7-percent from the floor in the second half. Southern used a balanced attack to do so, as four Salukis scored in double figures. Marcus Domask led the way with 14 second-half points, while Lance Jones (11), Ben Coupet Jr. (11) and Steven Verplancken (10) all also scored in double figures.
Southern got contributions throughout its lineup. Anthony D'Avanzo played a significant role off the bench, as he scored eight points in eight minutes during the first half to pull SIU's offense through a lull. Troy D'Amico stuffed the stat sheet with three points, three assists, two blocks, five rebounds and five steals in 20 minutes of play.
"D'Avanzo was huge for us," Domask said. "He gave us the lift that we needed in the first half. I thought Troy played well and overall our bench brought the energy for us."
The Salukis lead was down to nine, 49-40 with 9:06 to play in regulation before Southern's defense clamped down. SIU didn't allow a field goal from that point forward and outscored the Golden Eagles, 17-1, down the stretch to seal the win.
Southern is back in action on Saturday, Dec. 11 when it travels to Tulsa, Okla. to take on the Golden Hurricanes. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
