Saturday, February 6
Peoria, Ill.
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
8-7, 2-7MVC
66
at
74
Bradley
10-10, 4-7MVC
1
2
F
Southern Illinois
31
35
66
Bradley
32
42
74
Bradley fends off SIU, 74-66
02/06/2021 | 5:48:00 | Men's Basketball
PEORIA, Ill. - An undermanned SIU men's basketball team came up just short in a 74-66 loss at Bradley on Saturday afternoon at Carver Arena. The Salukis fought back from an eight-point second-half deficit to tie the game, but the two-time defending MVC Tournament champion Braves never let SIU take the lead and held on for the win.
"Give credit to Bradley. They made more plays at the end," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "I thought they came out ready to play in that second half. We got off to a slow start in the second half. Obviously, we'll watch the game, make some adjustments, and figure out the things we need to do better tomorrow."
Lance Jones hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to bring SIU (8-7, 2-7 MVC) with in a point at halftime, 31-30. But Bradley (10-10, 4-7 MVC) started the second half on a 6-0 run in the first 90 seconds to force an early SIU timeout.
SIU fought back to get within one, and the Braves went on another run to get back up by eight. Again, SIU battled right back and tied the game at the 10-minute mark, but the Salukis just couldn't get over the hump. In a back-and-forth tight game -- the fifth time in the last six games between SIU and Bradley that the final margin was eight points or fewer -- free throws might have been the difference. Bradley went 20-for-21 from the stripe (95%), and SIU was just 11-of-19 (58%). While SIU outrebounded the bigger Braves by one in the first half, Bradley owned the glass in the second half, 17-10.Â
"Rebounds, free throws -- executing all those little things matter in close games," Mullins said. "We need to do a better job finishing it off."
The Salukis played a fifth-straight game without star sophomore Marcus Domask, who has a foot injury. Already without J.D. Muila, who suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason, SIU's thin frontcourt battled foul trouble against perennial All-MVC center Elijah Childs.
The Salukis held their own against Childs and Bradley's other star, Terry Nolan Jr., in the first half, holding them to 11 points on 2-of-8 shooting. Kyler Filewich was the game's best big man in the first half with seven points and seven rebounds in the first half. But Childs and Nolan came alive in the second half. Childs posted nine points and eight rebounds after halftime to finish with a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds). Nolan had 18 points in the second half alone on 6-of-8 shooting and finished with a game-high 23 points.
The Salukis got great contributions from Steven Verplancken Jr. and Ben Harvey. Verplancken scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the 3-point line. Verplancken is averaging 10.2 points and shooting 46% from the 3-point line in SIU's last five games.Â
"Steven has been working hard every single day in practice," Mullins said. "He has to continue to put the work in, but he's given us a great lift. We need guys to step up, obviously, with Marcus (Domask) being out."
Harvey had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and grabbed two steals in the second half.Â
"He gave us some good energy," Mullins said of Harvey. "He made some hustle plays and energy plays, and that's important. When he plays with that type of energy, he's been really good for us this season."
Lance Jones led SIU with 15 points and hit four 3-pointers. The Saluki went 11-for-22 from the 3-point line in the game. Filewich narrowly missed a double-double, posting nine points and nine rebounds.Â
The teams play again at 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 7. The game will stream nationally on ESPN3.
NOTES: Saturday's game was the 100th game in the SIU-Bradley rivalry (BU leads, 53-47) ... Tomorrow, SIU will play on Super Bowl Sunday for the second time ever. The only other time SIU played on the same day as the Super Bowl: a 79-77 win at Creighton on Feb. 3, 2002, the same day Tom Brady earned his first Super Bowl win, 20-17 over the St. Louis Rams. ... Verplancken tied his SIU high with 14 points. He's had 14 points in each of the last two games ... Filewich tied his career high with nine rebounds ... SIU shot 55% in the second half (11-for-20) ... SIU became the first team to hold Bradley without a fast-break point (SIUoutscored Bradley 7-0 in fast break points) ... SIU held Bradley to 20 points in the paint, its second-lowest total of the year (Bradley had 18 paint points in a 51-50 loss to Xavier on November 26).Â
"Give credit to Bradley. They made more plays at the end," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "I thought they came out ready to play in that second half. We got off to a slow start in the second half. Obviously, we'll watch the game, make some adjustments, and figure out the things we need to do better tomorrow."
Lance Jones hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to bring SIU (8-7, 2-7 MVC) with in a point at halftime, 31-30. But Bradley (10-10, 4-7 MVC) started the second half on a 6-0 run in the first 90 seconds to force an early SIU timeout.
SIU fought back to get within one, and the Braves went on another run to get back up by eight. Again, SIU battled right back and tied the game at the 10-minute mark, but the Salukis just couldn't get over the hump. In a back-and-forth tight game -- the fifth time in the last six games between SIU and Bradley that the final margin was eight points or fewer -- free throws might have been the difference. Bradley went 20-for-21 from the stripe (95%), and SIU was just 11-of-19 (58%). While SIU outrebounded the bigger Braves by one in the first half, Bradley owned the glass in the second half, 17-10.Â
"Rebounds, free throws -- executing all those little things matter in close games," Mullins said. "We need to do a better job finishing it off."
The Salukis played a fifth-straight game without star sophomore Marcus Domask, who has a foot injury. Already without J.D. Muila, who suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason, SIU's thin frontcourt battled foul trouble against perennial All-MVC center Elijah Childs.
The Salukis held their own against Childs and Bradley's other star, Terry Nolan Jr., in the first half, holding them to 11 points on 2-of-8 shooting. Kyler Filewich was the game's best big man in the first half with seven points and seven rebounds in the first half. But Childs and Nolan came alive in the second half. Childs posted nine points and eight rebounds after halftime to finish with a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds). Nolan had 18 points in the second half alone on 6-of-8 shooting and finished with a game-high 23 points.
The Salukis got great contributions from Steven Verplancken Jr. and Ben Harvey. Verplancken scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the 3-point line. Verplancken is averaging 10.2 points and shooting 46% from the 3-point line in SIU's last five games.Â
"Steven has been working hard every single day in practice," Mullins said. "He has to continue to put the work in, but he's given us a great lift. We need guys to step up, obviously, with Marcus (Domask) being out."
Harvey had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and grabbed two steals in the second half.Â
"He gave us some good energy," Mullins said of Harvey. "He made some hustle plays and energy plays, and that's important. When he plays with that type of energy, he's been really good for us this season."
Lance Jones led SIU with 15 points and hit four 3-pointers. The Saluki went 11-for-22 from the 3-point line in the game. Filewich narrowly missed a double-double, posting nine points and nine rebounds.Â
The teams play again at 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 7. The game will stream nationally on ESPN3.
NOTES: Saturday's game was the 100th game in the SIU-Bradley rivalry (BU leads, 53-47) ... Tomorrow, SIU will play on Super Bowl Sunday for the second time ever. The only other time SIU played on the same day as the Super Bowl: a 79-77 win at Creighton on Feb. 3, 2002, the same day Tom Brady earned his first Super Bowl win, 20-17 over the St. Louis Rams. ... Verplancken tied his SIU high with 14 points. He's had 14 points in each of the last two games ... Filewich tied his career high with nine rebounds ... SIU shot 55% in the second half (11-for-20) ... SIU became the first team to hold Bradley without a fast-break point (SIUoutscored Bradley 7-0 in fast break points) ... SIU held Bradley to 20 points in the paint, its second-lowest total of the year (Bradley had 18 paint points in a 51-50 loss to Xavier on November 26).Â
Team Stats
SIU
BRAD
FG%
.431
.449
3FG%
.500
.435
FT%
.579
.952
RB
29
35
TO
11
11
STL
8
4
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
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