Saturday, February 5
Normal, Ill.
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
12-12,5-7MVC
75
at
69
Illinois State
10-14,3-8MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
41
34
75
Illinois St.
38
31
69
Men's Basketball picks up key road win at Illinois State, 75-69
02/05/2022 | 9:56:00 | Men's Basketball
NORMAL, Ill. — Lance Jones poured in a career-high 31 points, and Southern Illinois picked up its third Missouri Valley Conference road win this season, beating Illinois State, 75-69, on Saturday night at Redbird Arena.
A junior guard, Jones was hot from the opening tip, scoring 20 first-half points and knocking down 5-of-6 shots from 3-point range for the game. The league's leader in steals also added five more thefts to his season totals, giving Southern the total offensive and defensive package.
Jones' biggest shot of the game came with 1:21 remaining — a deep triple from the right wing that pushed SIU's lead to 73-64 and sent fans streaming to the exits.
"I just want to thank my teammates — they found me in the right positions," Jones said. "I felt like every shot that I released had a chance to go in."
The Salukis (12-12, 5-7) improved to 5-0 against teams in the bottom half of the conference standings, and that could pay dividends at the conference tournament next month. The top six seeds avoid the play-in game, and as of Saturday, SIU held down sixth place, one spot ahead of the Redbirds (10-14, 3-8).
"This was huge for us," said senior forward Marcus Domask, who had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. "Illinois State has had a lot of good home wins in the Valley already. For us to come in here and beat them and kind of separate ourselves from them a little bit is big for us. We have to keep this momentum going."
In a fast-paced first half, Southern led at the break, 41-38, but the lead felt tenuous after watching ISU shoot 56 percent from the field and make 6-of-9 shots from long range.
The Salukis ratcheted up the defense in the second half, holding the Redbirds to just 29 percent shooting, including 0-for-11 from 3-point. They also held Antonio Reeves, the league's second-leading scorer, to a season-low eight points on the night.
"I thought Trent (Brown), Lance, all the guys who were on him, did a great job taking away his space and just trying to make him uncomfortable," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "It was a team-defensive effort. Our bigs on ball-screen coverages, our other guards who weren't guarding him — one pass away trying to shrink the floor."
While the first half was controlled by Jones, the offense ran through Domask in the second half, and the junior forward continued his recent hot streak as a playmaker. Domask now has 17 assists and just one turnover in the last four games.
"The most underrated thing he does is his passing," Mullins said. "His feel for the game is what makes him such a special player. He can play one-through-five. You can give him the ball in all different spots on the floor and trust him to make good decisions."
Mullins made a change to the starting lineup, inserting Dalton Banks at the point, and the sophomore guard had seven assists in the game, including five in the first half.
A bus load of Saluki students made the trip to Normal, and chants of "SIU, SIU" echoed from the top of Redbird Arena.
"I want to give a shout-out to the Dawg Pound," Jones said. "It felt like a home game. They were supporting, cheering over the ISU fans."
A junior guard, Jones was hot from the opening tip, scoring 20 first-half points and knocking down 5-of-6 shots from 3-point range for the game. The league's leader in steals also added five more thefts to his season totals, giving Southern the total offensive and defensive package.
Jones' biggest shot of the game came with 1:21 remaining — a deep triple from the right wing that pushed SIU's lead to 73-64 and sent fans streaming to the exits.
"I just want to thank my teammates — they found me in the right positions," Jones said. "I felt like every shot that I released had a chance to go in."
The Salukis (12-12, 5-7) improved to 5-0 against teams in the bottom half of the conference standings, and that could pay dividends at the conference tournament next month. The top six seeds avoid the play-in game, and as of Saturday, SIU held down sixth place, one spot ahead of the Redbirds (10-14, 3-8).
"This was huge for us," said senior forward Marcus Domask, who had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. "Illinois State has had a lot of good home wins in the Valley already. For us to come in here and beat them and kind of separate ourselves from them a little bit is big for us. We have to keep this momentum going."
In a fast-paced first half, Southern led at the break, 41-38, but the lead felt tenuous after watching ISU shoot 56 percent from the field and make 6-of-9 shots from long range.
The Salukis ratcheted up the defense in the second half, holding the Redbirds to just 29 percent shooting, including 0-for-11 from 3-point. They also held Antonio Reeves, the league's second-leading scorer, to a season-low eight points on the night.
"I thought Trent (Brown), Lance, all the guys who were on him, did a great job taking away his space and just trying to make him uncomfortable," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "It was a team-defensive effort. Our bigs on ball-screen coverages, our other guards who weren't guarding him — one pass away trying to shrink the floor."
While the first half was controlled by Jones, the offense ran through Domask in the second half, and the junior forward continued his recent hot streak as a playmaker. Domask now has 17 assists and just one turnover in the last four games.
"The most underrated thing he does is his passing," Mullins said. "His feel for the game is what makes him such a special player. He can play one-through-five. You can give him the ball in all different spots on the floor and trust him to make good decisions."
Mullins made a change to the starting lineup, inserting Dalton Banks at the point, and the sophomore guard had seven assists in the game, including five in the first half.
A bus load of Saluki students made the trip to Normal, and chants of "SIU, SIU" echoed from the top of Redbird Arena.
"I want to give a shout-out to the Dawg Pound," Jones said. "It felt like a home game. They were supporting, cheering over the ISU fans."
Team Stats
SIU
ISU
FG%
.519
.415
3FG%
.444
.300
FT%
.684
.826
RB
23
34
TO
12
16
STL
10
6
Game Leaders
Pts
31
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
6
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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