Tuesday, January 25
Chicago, Ill.
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
10-10,3-5MVC
47
at
59
Loyola
15-3,6-1MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
17
30
47
Loyola Chicago
30
29
59
Late rally pushes Loyola past Men's Basketball, 59-47
01/25/2022 | 9:40:00 | Men's Basketball
CHICAGO — Loyola used an 11-2 run in the final three minutes to extend a three-point lead to a 59-47 win over Southern Illinois on Tuesday night.
The Salukis (10-10, 3-5) trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before storming back to cut it to one, 39-38, on a Trent Brown 3-pointer from the left corner with 11:10 to go.
Chants of "SIU, SIU" from a large Saluki contingent echoed throughout Gentile Arena after the 10-0 run, but every time Southern made it close, the Ramblers (15-3, 6-1) had an answer.
Loyola pushed the one-point lead out to eight, 48-40, before SIU countered with a 5-0 burst, capped by a Ben Coupet Jr. trey to make it 48-45 with 3:13 remaining.
With the game hanging in the balance, Lucas Williamson, who led Loyola with 20 points, made three huge offensive plays in a row. The senior wing scoring four points of his own and then found Aher Uguak for an open 3-pointer that made it 55-45, with 1:09 to go.
"When we cut it to three, I thought we had some good looks there at the end that just didn't fall," said SIU head coach Bryan Mullins."(Lucas) was able to drive a couple ball screens and get to the basket. Those guys have won a lot of close games."
Coupet led SIU with 14 points and was 3-for-3 from long range. It was his best outing since scoring 16 at Missouri State two weeks ago.
"Ben was really aggressive, played downhill," Mullins noted. "He didn't settle for threes. I thought he did a good job attacking the rim, getting to the paint, getting to the free throw line."
A Chicago native, Coupet had a large following at the game. It was also his 22nd birthday.
"It takes experience to win close games," Coupet said. "Being in these games is going to get us right, as the season goes on."
Southern jumped out to a 10-8 lead to start the game, but then went eight minutes without scoring and found itself down, 20-10, before Lance Jones broke the ice with a 3-ball.
Still, Loyola cruised a 30-17 halftime lead and seemed to have the game well in control.
"Our guys have fought back every single game," Mullins said. "We haven't played our best always, but we've never quit. I think our team has a lot of character, a lot of toughness."
The Salukis opened the second half on a 9-2 run that included two buckets by Jones, a 3-pointer by Steven Verplancken Jr. and a basket by Marcus Domask. Domask, the team's leading scorer, was limited to six points on the night but had 13 rebounds.
Until the dam broke during the final three minutes, SIU's defense held Loyola to just 4-of-18 shooting from the field. The Ramblers entered the game averaging more than 78 points per contest and were held to their lowest point total at home this season.
"I thought we guarded the dribble well and did a good job being physical, using our chest," Mullins said.
The Salukis outscored Loyola in the second half and will look to continue that momentum into Thursday night's rematch in Carbondale.
"For whatever reason, we were hesitant in the first half offensively.," Mullins said. "We played much more decisive and aggressive in the second half."
The Salukis (10-10, 3-5) trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before storming back to cut it to one, 39-38, on a Trent Brown 3-pointer from the left corner with 11:10 to go.
Chants of "SIU, SIU" from a large Saluki contingent echoed throughout Gentile Arena after the 10-0 run, but every time Southern made it close, the Ramblers (15-3, 6-1) had an answer.
Loyola pushed the one-point lead out to eight, 48-40, before SIU countered with a 5-0 burst, capped by a Ben Coupet Jr. trey to make it 48-45 with 3:13 remaining.
With the game hanging in the balance, Lucas Williamson, who led Loyola with 20 points, made three huge offensive plays in a row. The senior wing scoring four points of his own and then found Aher Uguak for an open 3-pointer that made it 55-45, with 1:09 to go.
"When we cut it to three, I thought we had some good looks there at the end that just didn't fall," said SIU head coach Bryan Mullins."(Lucas) was able to drive a couple ball screens and get to the basket. Those guys have won a lot of close games."
Coupet led SIU with 14 points and was 3-for-3 from long range. It was his best outing since scoring 16 at Missouri State two weeks ago.
"Ben was really aggressive, played downhill," Mullins noted. "He didn't settle for threes. I thought he did a good job attacking the rim, getting to the paint, getting to the free throw line."
A Chicago native, Coupet had a large following at the game. It was also his 22nd birthday.
"It takes experience to win close games," Coupet said. "Being in these games is going to get us right, as the season goes on."
Southern jumped out to a 10-8 lead to start the game, but then went eight minutes without scoring and found itself down, 20-10, before Lance Jones broke the ice with a 3-ball.
Still, Loyola cruised a 30-17 halftime lead and seemed to have the game well in control.
"Our guys have fought back every single game," Mullins said. "We haven't played our best always, but we've never quit. I think our team has a lot of character, a lot of toughness."
The Salukis opened the second half on a 9-2 run that included two buckets by Jones, a 3-pointer by Steven Verplancken Jr. and a basket by Marcus Domask. Domask, the team's leading scorer, was limited to six points on the night but had 13 rebounds.
Until the dam broke during the final three minutes, SIU's defense held Loyola to just 4-of-18 shooting from the field. The Ramblers entered the game averaging more than 78 points per contest and were held to their lowest point total at home this season.
"I thought we guarded the dribble well and did a good job being physical, using our chest," Mullins said.
The Salukis outscored Loyola in the second half and will look to continue that momentum into Thursday night's rematch in Carbondale.
"For whatever reason, we were hesitant in the first half offensively.," Mullins said. "We played much more decisive and aggressive in the second half."
Team Stats
SIU
Loyola
FG%
.333
.422
3FG%
.316
.368
FT%
.750
.824
RB
31
29
TO
13
10
STL
3
5
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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