Southern Illinois University
12-14,5-13MVC
Loyola
22-4,16-2MVC
SIU's season ends in MVC Tournament quarterfinal to #20 Loyola
03/05/2021 | 12:55:00 | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS - No. 20-ranked Loyola started the game on a 10-0 run and cruised to a 73-49 victory over a shorthanded SIU men's basketball team on Friday at Enterprise Center in the quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
"I told them that today wasn't our day. It doesn't define us. It doesn't define them as a team," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "It's been an incredible journey throughout the year. There have been so many things outside our control throughout the year, and our guys have dealt with adversity the only way you can, which is showing up the next day every single time. I'm proud of who they are as people. I'm proud of how they represent this university. If they continue to handle adversity the way they've handled it this year, they're going to be great men, great husbands, great fathers. I think they will take a lot of lessons they've learned this year for the rest of their lives."
SIU was without its top two players. Marcus Domask (16.3 ppg) suffered a season-ending foot injury in January, and Lance Jones (13.4 ppg) injured his ankle early in Thursday's win against Bradley and couldn't play today. The Salukis were already without J.D. Muila, who suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't say how much respect I have for the players (at SIU)," said Loyola head coach Porter Moser, who mentored SIU head coach Bryan Mullins for six years while Mullins was on staff under Moser. "Obviously, you know my respect for Bryan and their staff, but my respect for those players -- to play so tough last night, to play so many minutes, Brown, Verplancken, Dalton Banks, Filewich, D'Avanzo on a sore ankle, all of those kids -- those kids played their hearts out, and they just ran out of steam with another tough injury. I can't say enough how much respect I have for those kids. Bryan is doing all the things he needs to be doing. Those kids are getting championship experience -- toughness, winning mentality. I have a ton of respect for those players, and you obviously know how I feel about Bryan."
Without Domask in the last weekend of the regular season, the Salukis were able to take nationally ranked Loyola to the wire before falling in nailbiters, including one overtime game in which Jones scored 30 points. Without Jones today, SIU couldn't keep up with Loyola. Anthony D'Avanzo had a great first half, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, but SIU trailed 35-22 at the break. D'Avanzo finished the game with a season-best 18 points.
"Anthony has been playing his best basketball towards the end of the season," Mullins said of D'Avanzo. "He's been getting more comfortable with the pace, the physicality, and the speed of the game. When he's being versatile, that's when he's had his best games this year.Â
The Ramblers, who are a lock for the NCAA Tournament and will be a popular pick to make a deep run, started the second half on an 18-2 run to end any hopes for an SIU comeback.
"We didn't play our best today, obviously, and give a ton of credit to Loyola, a top-20 team,"Â Mullins said. "Our guys have done an incredible job this year of responding any time there has been adversity to our team. Obviously, losing Lance (Jones) yesterday and the quick turnaround, getting back to the hotel at 8:30 p.m. and playing at 11 a.m. We had some opportunities early in the game if some shots would have fallen to help us weather the storm a little bit. Loyola executed better on offense and defense today."
The Salukis ended the season with a 12-14 record. SIU was one of the youngest teams in the nation this season and got nearly 90% of its scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks and minutes played from freshmen and sophomores. The young dawgs flashed the potential for a bright future. The Salukis snapped Butler's 59-game nonconference home court winning streak, which dated back to 2012. The Salukis came an overtime away from pulling off the first true road win over a ranked MVC team in school history.
"The way the guys have responded this year shows that they're winners," Mullins said. "It shows that they want to do what it takes. I think with young teams, they don't always know how to do what it takes quite yet, but they're learning. Our guys got tons of experience this year. In terms of moving forward to the future, that's the type of program we want. We want to be playing on Sundays in St. Louis. We're building towards a championship program, and we need to keep improving."Â
SIU has the pieces to build around, starting with sophomores Domask and Jones. Domask was the 2020 MVC Newcomer of the Year, and Jones earned Third Team All-Valley honors this year. SIU was one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the nation, and it adds arguably its best recruiting classes of the last decade next season.
"The culture is slowly establishing itself, in terms of how we do things and the way we do things, and what we expect and the standards that are in place every single day," Mullins said. "All the young guys got experience, the sophomores for two years and the new guys this year. It's a process, and we're building towards being a championship program."
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