Saturday, February 13
Carbondale, Ill.
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
9-9,3-9MVC
55
vs
80
Illinois State
6-14,3-11MVC
1
2
F
Illinois St.
40
40
80
Southern Ill.
26
29
55
Redbirds race past Salukis, 80-55
02/13/2021 | 6:32:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Illinois State men's basketball team used an 18-0 run in the second half to blow the game open and cruised to a 80-55 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Banterra Center.
"Give credit to Illinois State. They outplayed us obviously for the whole game," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "I need to do a better job getting our guys ready to play from the beginning, and we need to come back with a much better effort tomorrow if we want to get a win."
SIU (9-9, 3-9 MVC) took a 2-0 lead, and Illinois State (6-14, 3-11 MVC) took it from there. The Salukis trailed for most of the first half, but Kyler Filewich kept the Salukis within striking distance, scoring eight points and dishing two assists in the first half. But with SIU trailing by eight with less than three minutes to go in the first half, Illinois State went on an extended 41-12 run that lasted about 15 minutes overlapping halftime. Illinois State, who had the previous week off, cruised to the finish line against an SIU team playing its fourth game in eight days, and which spent three days on the road in the middle of the week due to weather conditions.
"It's a tough game for Southern with the schedule," ISU head coach Dan Muller said. "They played at Missouri State Wednesday and got stuck there. They didn't get back until Thursday and had a short prep, and then you factor in the physical aspect of it. They certainly weren't their best. But we might have been our best. We shared the ball. Everybody who played gave great minutes. It was a fun day, a much-needed day for our guys, and I'm really happy."
"It starts with competitiveness. It starts with myself and making sure my guys are ready to go the first four minutes of the game," Mullins said. "Illinois State came out with more energy. They executed better on both sides of the ball. We need to have a great walkthrough tomorrow and ensure that mentally, emotionally, and physically our guys are ready to go."
Filewich ended up with his first career double-double with career highs in both points (13) and rebounds (10). Ben Harvey added five assists to his 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting. The Redbirds had four in double-figures, led by DJ Horne's game-high 17 points. Emon Washington (11), Josiah Strong (12), and Dedric Boyd (11) also scored in double-figures. Washington had a double-double with 10 rebounds. Howard Fleming Jr. had six assists and only one turnover in 26 minutes for Illinois State.
The win snapped SIU's three-game winning streak in the series. Illinois State won at Banterra Center for the first time since the 2016-17 season. In this season's back-to-back format, the teams match up again tomorrow in Banterra Center. The game will tip at 3 p.m. and stream nationally on ESPN3.
"After tonight, I think the guys are looking forward to tomorrow," Mullins said. "That's the only good thing about these (back-to-back) series. If you don't play well that first night, you have a chance to get that taste out of your mouth. Right now, there's frustration, disappointment, and eagerness to get back in the gym tomorrow and do a better job as a coaching staff and as a team of representing SIU."
"Give credit to Illinois State. They outplayed us obviously for the whole game," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "I need to do a better job getting our guys ready to play from the beginning, and we need to come back with a much better effort tomorrow if we want to get a win."
SIU (9-9, 3-9 MVC) took a 2-0 lead, and Illinois State (6-14, 3-11 MVC) took it from there. The Salukis trailed for most of the first half, but Kyler Filewich kept the Salukis within striking distance, scoring eight points and dishing two assists in the first half. But with SIU trailing by eight with less than three minutes to go in the first half, Illinois State went on an extended 41-12 run that lasted about 15 minutes overlapping halftime. Illinois State, who had the previous week off, cruised to the finish line against an SIU team playing its fourth game in eight days, and which spent three days on the road in the middle of the week due to weather conditions.
"It's a tough game for Southern with the schedule," ISU head coach Dan Muller said. "They played at Missouri State Wednesday and got stuck there. They didn't get back until Thursday and had a short prep, and then you factor in the physical aspect of it. They certainly weren't their best. But we might have been our best. We shared the ball. Everybody who played gave great minutes. It was a fun day, a much-needed day for our guys, and I'm really happy."
"It starts with competitiveness. It starts with myself and making sure my guys are ready to go the first four minutes of the game," Mullins said. "Illinois State came out with more energy. They executed better on both sides of the ball. We need to have a great walkthrough tomorrow and ensure that mentally, emotionally, and physically our guys are ready to go."
Filewich ended up with his first career double-double with career highs in both points (13) and rebounds (10). Ben Harvey added five assists to his 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting. The Redbirds had four in double-figures, led by DJ Horne's game-high 17 points. Emon Washington (11), Josiah Strong (12), and Dedric Boyd (11) also scored in double-figures. Washington had a double-double with 10 rebounds. Howard Fleming Jr. had six assists and only one turnover in 26 minutes for Illinois State.
The win snapped SIU's three-game winning streak in the series. Illinois State won at Banterra Center for the first time since the 2016-17 season. In this season's back-to-back format, the teams match up again tomorrow in Banterra Center. The game will tip at 3 p.m. and stream nationally on ESPN3.
"After tonight, I think the guys are looking forward to tomorrow," Mullins said. "That's the only good thing about these (back-to-back) series. If you don't play well that first night, you have a chance to get that taste out of your mouth. Right now, there's frustration, disappointment, and eagerness to get back in the gym tomorrow and do a better job as a coaching staff and as a team of representing SIU."
Team Stats
ISU
SIU
FG%
.448
.382
3FG%
.333
.231
FT%
.833
.467
RB
45
33
TO
7
13
STL
8
2
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballG
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