Friday, February 26
Chicago, Ill.
8:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
11-12 (5-12MVC)
52
at
60
Loyola
20-4 (15-2MVC)
1
2
F
Southern Illinois
20
32
52
Loyola Chicago
29
31
60
Salukis narrowly fall at #21 Loyola
02/26/2021 | 10:43:00 | Men's Basketball
CHICAGO, Ill. - The SIU men's basketball team put up a valiant effort and nearly pulled off a stunner at No. 21 Loyola on Friday night, but the Ramblers held on for a 60-52 victory over the Salukis at Gentile Arena.Â
SIU (11-12, 5-12 MVC) trailed by as many as 16 early in the second half, but the Salukis cut that deficit all the way down to four in the game's final five minutes. But Loyola (20-4, 15-2 MVC), which is loaded with seniors and a lock to make the NCAA Tournament field, made the plays down the stretch to earn their 13th win in their last 14 games.Â
"Give credit to Loyola," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "They made more plays than us, especially in those last four minutes. They were able to make some big baskets and get some stops. We need to execute better at the end of the game. I thought our guys competed for the whole 40 minutes. There was a stretch when the game could have gotten away from us. I thought the guys showed a lot of resilience and character to get it down to a (four) point game, with opportunities to get it lower than that."
The Salukis were trying to get a win over a ranked MVC team in a true road game for the first time in program history; and as 20-point underdogs without star sophomore Marcus Domask, who missed his 13th-straight game with a foot injury, this group of almost entirely freshmen and sophomores nearly pulled it off. Steven Verplancken Jr. was a huge reason why, scoring all of his game-high 17 points in the second half. The sophomore from the Dominican Republic shot 6-for-6 from the field and 5-for-5 from the 3-point line.Â
"We challenged him at halftime," Mullins said of Verplancken. "I thought he and Trent (Brown) played extremely well in the second half offensively and defensively. We need those guys. They're going to be a huge part of our program for the next couple years. This was a high-level game. That's a top-25 team, and I thought our guys really competed against them."
Loyola, ranked by analytics web site KenPom as a top-10 team overall and the No. 1 defense in the nation, was smothering. SIU's Lance Jones hit four quick 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the game. After that, Loyola held SIU scoreless for nine minutes, but SIU's defense kept the Salukis in the game. SIU held the Ramblers to 5-for-27 from the 3-point line (18.5%) and 39.6% from the field for the game, which gave the Salukis a shot when Verplancken got hot in the second half.Â
"Our guys are competing," Mullins said. "They're getting more connected defensively. I think our defensive effort has gotten better every week since our pause. You're not going to win in this league or in St. Louis if you can't guard."
The resilient Salukis battled through adversity throughout the game -- the first-half scoring drought, 18 turnovers, and a 14-2 free throw disparity. The Salukis fought back by hitting 60% of their 3-pointers (12-of-20) and competing very well on the boards against the bigger Ramblers -- SIU lost the boards by just four, 33-29, and held Loyola to just six second-chance points.Â
The young Salukis competed well against the Loyola veterans. All-American Cameron Krutwig got 11 points and 6 rebounds before leaving the game with a cramp. SIU limited Loyola senior starters Aher Uguak, Lucas Williamson, and Keith Clemons to a combined 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting. But Loyola's depth came through. Braden Norris hit three second-half 3-pointers, and Marquise Kennedy scored 16 points to lead the Ramblers.
The teams play the second half of the back-to-back against Loyola on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN2.Â
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SIU (11-12, 5-12 MVC) trailed by as many as 16 early in the second half, but the Salukis cut that deficit all the way down to four in the game's final five minutes. But Loyola (20-4, 15-2 MVC), which is loaded with seniors and a lock to make the NCAA Tournament field, made the plays down the stretch to earn their 13th win in their last 14 games.Â
"Give credit to Loyola," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "They made more plays than us, especially in those last four minutes. They were able to make some big baskets and get some stops. We need to execute better at the end of the game. I thought our guys competed for the whole 40 minutes. There was a stretch when the game could have gotten away from us. I thought the guys showed a lot of resilience and character to get it down to a (four) point game, with opportunities to get it lower than that."
The Salukis were trying to get a win over a ranked MVC team in a true road game for the first time in program history; and as 20-point underdogs without star sophomore Marcus Domask, who missed his 13th-straight game with a foot injury, this group of almost entirely freshmen and sophomores nearly pulled it off. Steven Verplancken Jr. was a huge reason why, scoring all of his game-high 17 points in the second half. The sophomore from the Dominican Republic shot 6-for-6 from the field and 5-for-5 from the 3-point line.Â
"We challenged him at halftime," Mullins said of Verplancken. "I thought he and Trent (Brown) played extremely well in the second half offensively and defensively. We need those guys. They're going to be a huge part of our program for the next couple years. This was a high-level game. That's a top-25 team, and I thought our guys really competed against them."
Loyola, ranked by analytics web site KenPom as a top-10 team overall and the No. 1 defense in the nation, was smothering. SIU's Lance Jones hit four quick 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the game. After that, Loyola held SIU scoreless for nine minutes, but SIU's defense kept the Salukis in the game. SIU held the Ramblers to 5-for-27 from the 3-point line (18.5%) and 39.6% from the field for the game, which gave the Salukis a shot when Verplancken got hot in the second half.Â
"Our guys are competing," Mullins said. "They're getting more connected defensively. I think our defensive effort has gotten better every week since our pause. You're not going to win in this league or in St. Louis if you can't guard."
The resilient Salukis battled through adversity throughout the game -- the first-half scoring drought, 18 turnovers, and a 14-2 free throw disparity. The Salukis fought back by hitting 60% of their 3-pointers (12-of-20) and competing very well on the boards against the bigger Ramblers -- SIU lost the boards by just four, 33-29, and held Loyola to just six second-chance points.Â
The young Salukis competed well against the Loyola veterans. All-American Cameron Krutwig got 11 points and 6 rebounds before leaving the game with a cramp. SIU limited Loyola senior starters Aher Uguak, Lucas Williamson, and Keith Clemons to a combined 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting. But Loyola's depth came through. Braden Norris hit three second-half 3-pointers, and Marquise Kennedy scored 16 points to lead the Ramblers.
The teams play the second half of the back-to-back against Loyola on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN2.Â
Â
Team Stats
SIU
LUC
FG%
.417
.396
3FG%
.600
.185
FT%
.000
.929
RB
29
33
TO
18
13
STL
5
12
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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