Tuesday, February 15
Carbondale, Ill.
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
14-13,7-8MVC
65
vs
57
Bradley
15-12,9-6MVC
1
2
F
Bradley
22
35
57
Southern Ill.
41
24
65
Men's Basketball tops Bradley, 65-57, behind monster first-half run
02/15/2022 | 9:55:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Behind an electric first-half performance, Southern Illinois beat Bradley, the hottest team in the Missouri Valley Conference, 65-57, on Tuesday night at the Banterra Center.
Seven minutes into the game, the Salukis (14-13, 7-8) trailed, 11-0, and had already burned two timeouts. Then lightning struck, in the form of Ben Coupet Jr. and Marcus Domask on offense, and a withering defensive effort that completely overwhelmed Bradley.
The combination resulted in a stunning 30-point reversal, as Southern out-scored the visitors, 41-11, the rest of the half. Coupet had 17 of his 19 points in the first half, while Domask added 14 en route to a game-high 25 points.
Southern put on a defensive clinic. Virtually every shot, pass and dribble was contested, resulting in seven first-half steals, plus four blocked shots.
"It started with our defense — our intensity, our ball pressure, rebounding, getting deflections," said SIU head coach Bryan Mullins. "Then the guys sprinted the court and fed off each other."
Domask made Southern's first basket at the 13:28 mark, and then he and Coupet traded off making shots, combining for 31 of Southern's 41 first-half points. During a 16-0 Saluki run late in the first half, Coupet buried back-to-back threes and later flushed a two-handed dunk off a nifty feed from Lance Jones.
"Ben was in another gear," Mullins marveled. "He gave us great energy."
The Salukis rank among the nation's best in scoring defense, but tonight they showed shades of a potent offense, with their best home shooting performance of the conference season, connecting on 51 percent from the field. After missing their first six shots, Southern finished the first half by making 17-of-25 shots.
"There wasn't a lot of play calls," Mullins said. "The guys were playing basketball. They were playing instinctual and playing with a ton of confidence."
Just before the half ended, Domask buried a three from the left corner. An already frenzied crowd reached a crescendo and sent Southern to the locker room with a standing ovation.
"We were just feeding off each other's energy and the crowd's energy," Domask said.
The Braves (15-12, 9-5), who entered the game having won seven of their last eight, put a late scare into the crowd. They closed a 25-point deficit to just five points with 90 seconds remaining, but Southern held them scoreless the rest of the way. Again, it was SIU's defense that came to the forefront, as Domask took a late charge and Dalton Banks forced a key turnover.
"You don't always have to learn from losing," Mullins said. "We have to take of the ball better and make our free throws, but we won the game with our defense, being able to get stops."
After losing several close games to the Valley's top teams, Southern picked up its second, top-100 win of the season, and its first since beating Colorado in November.
"It just shows that what we're doing is working," Domask said. "Coach had a quote for us about keeping at it, don't give up, and it's eventually going to break. We're trying to keep trusting Coach, keep trusting our offense and eventually we're going to break through and have some big wins."
The Salukis wore special black jerseys with names on the back that were selected by winning jersey bidders as part of the Southern Illinois Healthcare Blackout Cancer fundraiser. The 10-year total of money raised by the charitable event is $400,844, and the funds have assisted 17,000 local families to date.
Seven minutes into the game, the Salukis (14-13, 7-8) trailed, 11-0, and had already burned two timeouts. Then lightning struck, in the form of Ben Coupet Jr. and Marcus Domask on offense, and a withering defensive effort that completely overwhelmed Bradley.
The combination resulted in a stunning 30-point reversal, as Southern out-scored the visitors, 41-11, the rest of the half. Coupet had 17 of his 19 points in the first half, while Domask added 14 en route to a game-high 25 points.
Southern put on a defensive clinic. Virtually every shot, pass and dribble was contested, resulting in seven first-half steals, plus four blocked shots.
"It started with our defense — our intensity, our ball pressure, rebounding, getting deflections," said SIU head coach Bryan Mullins. "Then the guys sprinted the court and fed off each other."
Domask made Southern's first basket at the 13:28 mark, and then he and Coupet traded off making shots, combining for 31 of Southern's 41 first-half points. During a 16-0 Saluki run late in the first half, Coupet buried back-to-back threes and later flushed a two-handed dunk off a nifty feed from Lance Jones.
"Ben was in another gear," Mullins marveled. "He gave us great energy."
The Salukis rank among the nation's best in scoring defense, but tonight they showed shades of a potent offense, with their best home shooting performance of the conference season, connecting on 51 percent from the field. After missing their first six shots, Southern finished the first half by making 17-of-25 shots.
"There wasn't a lot of play calls," Mullins said. "The guys were playing basketball. They were playing instinctual and playing with a ton of confidence."
Just before the half ended, Domask buried a three from the left corner. An already frenzied crowd reached a crescendo and sent Southern to the locker room with a standing ovation.
"We were just feeding off each other's energy and the crowd's energy," Domask said.
The Braves (15-12, 9-5), who entered the game having won seven of their last eight, put a late scare into the crowd. They closed a 25-point deficit to just five points with 90 seconds remaining, but Southern held them scoreless the rest of the way. Again, it was SIU's defense that came to the forefront, as Domask took a late charge and Dalton Banks forced a key turnover.
"You don't always have to learn from losing," Mullins said. "We have to take of the ball better and make our free throws, but we won the game with our defense, being able to get stops."
After losing several close games to the Valley's top teams, Southern picked up its second, top-100 win of the season, and its first since beating Colorado in November.
"It just shows that what we're doing is working," Domask said. "Coach had a quote for us about keeping at it, don't give up, and it's eventually going to break. We're trying to keep trusting Coach, keep trusting our offense and eventually we're going to break through and have some big wins."
The Salukis wore special black jerseys with names on the back that were selected by winning jersey bidders as part of the Southern Illinois Healthcare Blackout Cancer fundraiser. The 10-year total of money raised by the charitable event is $400,844, and the funds have assisted 17,000 local families to date.
Team Stats
Brad
SIU
FG%
.414
.511
3FG%
.313
.313
FT%
.667
.571
RB
35
29
TO
17
14
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
10.6.25 | Rolyns Aligbe with Rodney Watson
Monday, October 06
10.6.25 | Jalen Haynes with Rodney Watson
Monday, October 06
10.5.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame Indiana State - Nick Hill
Sunday, October 05
10.5.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame Indiana State - Chandler Chapman
Sunday, October 05