Wednesday, February 17
Carbondale, Ill.
8:15 PM
Southern Illinois University
10-10,4-10MVC
53
vs
68
Missouri State
15-5,11-5MVC
1
2
F
Missouri St.
36
32
68
Southern Ill.
22
31
53
Bears top Salukis, 68-53
02/17/2021 | 10:23:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Missouri State men's basketball team hit 10 of its first 12 shots en route to a 68-53 win over SIU on Wednesday night at Banterra Center.
MSU center Gaige Prim was unstoppable. He finished with 29 points (on 13-of-19 shooting), 21 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocked shots. He was a second-half rebound shy of having a double-double in each half: After 16 points and 12 rebounds in the first half -- he singlehandedly outrebounded SIU in the first half 12-10 -- he added 13 points and nine boards after intermission.Â
"He was aggressive, whether he was passing, rebounding, or being a threat offensively," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said of Prim. "He was playing downhill all night. They do a good job of getting him the ball in different spots. Give him credit."
Missouri State (15-6, 11-5 MVC), winners of six-straight, jumped on SIU (10-10, 3-10 MVC) from the tip. The Bears went up 14-0 to force an early Saluki timeout. The Salukis hung around and fought back after that: After MSU's red-hot 10-for-12 start from the field, SIU held the Bears to 6-for-17 (35%) the rest of the half. SIU went on an 11-2 run to trim a 17-point deficit down to single-digits with still eight minutes to go before halftime. But with that chance to climb all the way out of a 17-point deficit before halftime, SIU went just 1 for its next 10 from the floor and trailed 36-22 at halftime.Â
"We had chances throughout the first half to cut into the lead even more," Mullins said. "We didn't shoot the ball well in the second half. They did a better job taking away the paint from us than the first game and lived with us shooting 3's. I thought we had pretty good looks throughout the night."
Ben Harvey kept the Salukis within striking distance in the first half, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Lance Jones was the second-half spark, scoring 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and the Salukis were were outstanding taking care of the ball and committed just six turnovers all game. But a six-minute scoring drought early in the second half allowed Missouri State to push its lead to 20, and the Bears cruised from there. Missouri State's defense, which allowed fewer than 60 points for a fourth-straight game, made sure SIU never threatened. The Salukis shot 34.5% from the field in the loss.
"I don't think our guys quit. It wasn't a lack of effort tonight," Mullins said. "Give Missouri State credit. They played better on both sides of the ball. We didn't turn the ball over. We tried to share the ball. We still probably took too many contested two's and contested layups, but we weren't making three's. We had some really good looks."
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Valparaiso on Sunday and Monday at Banterra Center.Â
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MSU center Gaige Prim was unstoppable. He finished with 29 points (on 13-of-19 shooting), 21 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocked shots. He was a second-half rebound shy of having a double-double in each half: After 16 points and 12 rebounds in the first half -- he singlehandedly outrebounded SIU in the first half 12-10 -- he added 13 points and nine boards after intermission.Â
"He was aggressive, whether he was passing, rebounding, or being a threat offensively," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said of Prim. "He was playing downhill all night. They do a good job of getting him the ball in different spots. Give him credit."
Missouri State (15-6, 11-5 MVC), winners of six-straight, jumped on SIU (10-10, 3-10 MVC) from the tip. The Bears went up 14-0 to force an early Saluki timeout. The Salukis hung around and fought back after that: After MSU's red-hot 10-for-12 start from the field, SIU held the Bears to 6-for-17 (35%) the rest of the half. SIU went on an 11-2 run to trim a 17-point deficit down to single-digits with still eight minutes to go before halftime. But with that chance to climb all the way out of a 17-point deficit before halftime, SIU went just 1 for its next 10 from the floor and trailed 36-22 at halftime.Â
"We had chances throughout the first half to cut into the lead even more," Mullins said. "We didn't shoot the ball well in the second half. They did a better job taking away the paint from us than the first game and lived with us shooting 3's. I thought we had pretty good looks throughout the night."
Ben Harvey kept the Salukis within striking distance in the first half, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Lance Jones was the second-half spark, scoring 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and the Salukis were were outstanding taking care of the ball and committed just six turnovers all game. But a six-minute scoring drought early in the second half allowed Missouri State to push its lead to 20, and the Bears cruised from there. Missouri State's defense, which allowed fewer than 60 points for a fourth-straight game, made sure SIU never threatened. The Salukis shot 34.5% from the field in the loss.
"I don't think our guys quit. It wasn't a lack of effort tonight," Mullins said. "Give Missouri State credit. They played better on both sides of the ball. We didn't turn the ball over. We tried to share the ball. We still probably took too many contested two's and contested layups, but we weren't making three's. We had some really good looks."
UP NEXT: SIU hosts Valparaiso on Sunday and Monday at Banterra Center.Â
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Team Stats
MSU
SIU
FG%
.517
.345
3FG%
.263
.250
FT%
.750
.500
RB
43
27
TO
11
6
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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