Sunday, February 21
Carbondale, Ill.
4:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
10-11,4-11MVC
65
vs
66
Valparaiso
9-15,6-9MVC
1
2
F
Valparaiso
34
32
66
Southern Ill.
39
26
65
Salukis drop heartbreaker to Valpo, 66-65
02/21/2021 | 6:18:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Steven Verplancken Jr. split a double-team and got a good look in the paint in the game's final five seconds, but it bounced off the rim to secure Valpo's 66-65 win over the SIU men's basketball team on Sunday afternoon at Banterra Center.Â
"Give Vapo credit. They played really well today," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "I thought our guys played the right way. They played really hard. I thought there were some really good stretches both offensively and defensively that we need to carry over to tomorrow."
SIU's crunch-time defense was suffocating. The Salukis (10-11, 4-11 MVC) got five-consecutive defensive stops and held Valpo (9-15, 6-9 MVC) scoreless for the game's final four minutes. But SIU couldn't convert offensively. SIU trailed 66-63 when the defensive stand started. Anthony D'Avanzo, who was outstanding all night with 16 points and 6 rebounds, hit a layup to bring SIU within 66-65 with 3:30 to play. Other than one possession, when SIU had to force a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock, SIU had good looks in that final 3:30, but they didn't fall, and Valpo snuck away with the win.Â
SIU was considerably undersized -- all of Valpo's rotation stands 6-4 and taller -- but SIU's big men were outstanding. D'Avanzo shot 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from the 3-point line. Kyler Filewich had a near double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Filewich also dished a career-high four assists.Â
"He played with a ton of confidence," Mullins said of D'Avanzo. "You could tell by his body language and aggressiveness. That's the type of player he can be day-in and day-out, and that's what we need from him. Hopefully, he can build on this and be better tomorrow."
The loss was heartbreaking for an SIU team that did so many things well to put itself in position to win. Beyond the five-straight defensive stops at the end of the game, the Salukis had 17 assists against just six turnovers. All seven players who played recorded at least one assist. Four players were in double-figures. Ben Harvey was 5-for-7 from the field and scored 13 points. SIU went 8-for-16 from the 3-point line in the first half. SIU even held its own inside against a bigger Valpo team, tying the points in the paint battle, 30-30.
But the difference in the game might have been on the glass. Valpo got 12 offensive rebounds and turned them into 15 second-chance points. Donovan Clay and Jacob Ognacevic were big for Valpo in the second half. SIU held the rest of Valpo's team to 4-for-15 from the field in the second half and 10 points, but Ognacevic and Clay combined to score 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting after the break.
"We need to clean up the offensive rebounding; we need to clean up some cutting actions," Mullins said. "But our guys competed the whole game. It wasn't perfect, but we did enough to put ourselves in position to win."
The teams play again on Monday night in the second game of the back-to-back. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
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"Give Vapo credit. They played really well today," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "I thought our guys played the right way. They played really hard. I thought there were some really good stretches both offensively and defensively that we need to carry over to tomorrow."
SIU's crunch-time defense was suffocating. The Salukis (10-11, 4-11 MVC) got five-consecutive defensive stops and held Valpo (9-15, 6-9 MVC) scoreless for the game's final four minutes. But SIU couldn't convert offensively. SIU trailed 66-63 when the defensive stand started. Anthony D'Avanzo, who was outstanding all night with 16 points and 6 rebounds, hit a layup to bring SIU within 66-65 with 3:30 to play. Other than one possession, when SIU had to force a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock, SIU had good looks in that final 3:30, but they didn't fall, and Valpo snuck away with the win.Â
SIU was considerably undersized -- all of Valpo's rotation stands 6-4 and taller -- but SIU's big men were outstanding. D'Avanzo shot 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from the 3-point line. Kyler Filewich had a near double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Filewich also dished a career-high four assists.Â
"He played with a ton of confidence," Mullins said of D'Avanzo. "You could tell by his body language and aggressiveness. That's the type of player he can be day-in and day-out, and that's what we need from him. Hopefully, he can build on this and be better tomorrow."
The loss was heartbreaking for an SIU team that did so many things well to put itself in position to win. Beyond the five-straight defensive stops at the end of the game, the Salukis had 17 assists against just six turnovers. All seven players who played recorded at least one assist. Four players were in double-figures. Ben Harvey was 5-for-7 from the field and scored 13 points. SIU went 8-for-16 from the 3-point line in the first half. SIU even held its own inside against a bigger Valpo team, tying the points in the paint battle, 30-30.
But the difference in the game might have been on the glass. Valpo got 12 offensive rebounds and turned them into 15 second-chance points. Donovan Clay and Jacob Ognacevic were big for Valpo in the second half. SIU held the rest of Valpo's team to 4-for-15 from the field in the second half and 10 points, but Ognacevic and Clay combined to score 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting after the break.
"We need to clean up the offensive rebounding; we need to clean up some cutting actions," Mullins said. "But our guys competed the whole game. It wasn't perfect, but we did enough to put ourselves in position to win."
The teams play again on Monday night in the second game of the back-to-back. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
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Team Stats
Valpo
SIU
FG%
.459
.490
3FG%
.381
.391
FT%
.667
.667
RB
32
27
TO
6
6
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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