Wednesday, November 22
Cancun, MX
5 PM CT / 6 PM ET
Southern Illinois University
4-1,0-0MVC
81
vs
54
New Mexico State
3-4,0-0CUSA
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
41
40
81
New Mexico St.
19
35
54
Photo by: Saluki Athletic Communications
Recap | Men's Basketball rolls to 81-54 blowout win over New Mexico State
11/22/2023 | 7:21:00 | Men's Basketball
CANCUN, Mexico - In an impressive offensive display, Southern Illinois dished out 22 assists and knocked down 16 shots from 3-point range, in an 81-54 blowout win over New Mexico State on Wednesday night.
"We talked a lot about having a championship effort after a tough loss last night, head coach Bryan Mullins said following the win. "In a short turnaround, I really challenged our guys to be more physical than they were last night and play at a high level, and they responded. Overall, just a collective team win."
If last night was the Xavier Johnson show for SIU, when the senior guard poured in 38 points versus James Madison, tonight demonstrated a balanced attack by the Salukis (4-1).
Four players scored in double figures for Southern, led by Johnson's 18. The contest featured key contributions off the bench by Jovan Stulic (13 points) and freshman Kennard Davis (12 points, six rebounds). Troy D'Amico added 13 points.
The Salukis never trailed in the game and had it well in-hand by halftime, using a 15-0 first-half run to build a 41-19 halftime lead.
How efficient was SIU's offense? Of the team's 24 field goals, 22 featured an assist.
"We talked about New Mexico State really playing pack line (defense), trying to shrink the floor and take away the paint," Mullins said. "We talked to X (Xavier) about quick passes and skips to the corners and all the guys shared the ball well, guys were cutting off the ball and we were able to get some good looks."
Southern's defense was equally impressive, holding the Aggies (3-4) to a mere three field goals in the first half and 0-for-9 shooting from 3-point for the game.
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to action on Nov. 28 with the conference opener at Indiana State, before returning home for back-to-back games versus Saint Louis (Dec. 2) and Oklahoma State (Dec. 5).
"We talked a lot about having a championship effort after a tough loss last night, head coach Bryan Mullins said following the win. "In a short turnaround, I really challenged our guys to be more physical than they were last night and play at a high level, and they responded. Overall, just a collective team win."
If last night was the Xavier Johnson show for SIU, when the senior guard poured in 38 points versus James Madison, tonight demonstrated a balanced attack by the Salukis (4-1).
Four players scored in double figures for Southern, led by Johnson's 18. The contest featured key contributions off the bench by Jovan Stulic (13 points) and freshman Kennard Davis (12 points, six rebounds). Troy D'Amico added 13 points.
The Salukis never trailed in the game and had it well in-hand by halftime, using a 15-0 first-half run to build a 41-19 halftime lead.
How efficient was SIU's offense? Of the team's 24 field goals, 22 featured an assist.
"We talked about New Mexico State really playing pack line (defense), trying to shrink the floor and take away the paint," Mullins said. "We talked to X (Xavier) about quick passes and skips to the corners and all the guys shared the ball well, guys were cutting off the ball and we were able to get some good looks."
Southern's defense was equally impressive, holding the Aggies (3-4) to a mere three field goals in the first half and 0-for-9 shooting from 3-point for the game.
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to action on Nov. 28 with the conference opener at Indiana State, before returning home for back-to-back games versus Saint Louis (Dec. 2) and Oklahoma State (Dec. 5).
Team Stats
SIU
NMSU
FG%
.444
.319
3FG%
.457
.000
FT%
.654
.828
RB
32
36
TO
5
12
STL
5
1
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
9
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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