Salukis show mettle in loss to Rebels
By Jason Maholy
Southern Illinois suffered its first defeat of the season Saturday night in Las Vegas, but rest assured this version of the Salukis is a legitimate contender for the Missouri Valley title and has as good a chance as any team of representing the conference in the NCAA Tournament.
The Dawgs shot 35 percent (21-60) and 19.2 percent (5-26) from 3-point range, while UNLV shot 56.3 percent for the game and 77 percent in the second half, yet were down just five points with a minute and a half left. Kevin Dillard, Tony Freeman and Carlton Fay, the team's three best players and the guys being counted on to carry this team offensively, were a combined 9-for-33 from the field and 2-for-19 -- no kidding -- from the arc. But sophomore center Nick Evans, who really appears to be coming into his own and may be dominant by season's end, scored 12 points and reserve swing man John Freeman dropped 11 to at least make up a bit of the difference. That is indicative Southern has other scoring options other than the Big Three, and it will probably be rare that Dillard, Fay and Tony Freeman all have such poor-shooting nights.
How were the Salukis even in this game? Last year's team -- the one led by tough-as-nails point guard Bryan Mullins -- would have wilted and lost by 20 or more, a la the demoralizing losses to Duke, UCLA and Nevada, but these Salukis played smart, fundamentally sound basketball the majority of the game and never caved despite the adversity of playing what appears to be a pretty good team in a hostile environment. They committed just eight turnovers and contributed to The Rebels' 15, and were just two or three shots away and a defensive stop from stealing a tough game on the road.
Don't doubt this team's heart or its desire to play inspired basketball for 40 minutes. These guys came out pumped up, perhaps a little too pumped, and jumped out to an 18-6 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Now, that lead deteriorated during an 18-2 Rebel run during a five-minute stretch in the middle of the first period, but no one can accuse the Dawgs of not being ready for what was likely their biggest game of the non-conference schedule. Eighteen-to-6 runs to start games on the road aren't produced by mediocre teams; these Salukis are tough, talented and ambitious, and understand what it means to be a Saluki. Maybe the adrenaline wore off, or maybe they actually played too hard the first six minutes, but despite that run, which put the Rebels up 24-20, Southern managed to regain its composure and take a 37-34 lead into halftime.
But good first halves do not a game make, and the Rebels turned it on in the second half, scoring 44 points and sending the Salukis back to Carbondale, though I doubt with their tails between their legs. This team has much room for improvement, particularly with defense and being patient on offense, but the UNLV game was just the sort of competition this relatively young squad needed early in the season. Their flaws were exposed, which will hopefully serve as motivation for them to continue to improve; but their strengths -- taking care of the ball, maintaining their composure, making their free throws -- were also made evident, giving them something to be proud of and build on. Players like Dillard, Evans, Bocot and forward Anthony Booker are still developing, and thier ceilings appear to be quite high -- particularly Dillard and Evans, who could be very scary together for the next three seasons. Freshmen Kendal Brown-Surles and Eugene Teague, meanwhile, already seem capable of providing solid minutes off the bench and will only get better as the season progresses.
Southern's teams have in the past rarely been dominant in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and have used losses early in the season as learning experiences to prepare them for a run at the MVC crown. The talent coach Chris Lowery has assembled on this squad may be the best and deepest in the program's history, if they can improve just a little bit each game and correct the flaws that lead to a few missed scoring opportunities or an easy basket for the opposition, the Salukis will once again be at or very close to the top of the Valley.
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Salukis head to Vegas for tilt with Rebels
UNLV will be SIU's first real test of season
By Jason Maholy
The Reporter
Southern Illinois will get its sternest test thus far this season when it hits the road to for the first time to take on UNLV Saturday night in Sin City.
The battle between the Salukis and Runnin’ Rebels is part of the inaugural Missouri Valley-Mountain West Challenge Series, which pits teams from each conference against each other for the next four years.
SIU (2-0) is off to a strong start averaging 87.5 points per game and has outscored its first two opponents by a combined 43 points. The Salukis scored 91 points – the most in coach Chris Lowery’s six years at the helm -- in their season-opener against Tennessee-Martin, then followed that with an 84-point outburst against Division II Indianapolis.
Facing a team with legitimate NCAA Tourney hopes in a hostile environment in the first road game of the season, however, will be a much more challenging endeavor. The Salukis hope this trip ends better than their last journey to the Silver State, when Nevada thumped them 62-48 last Dec. 14.
The Runnin’ Rebels (2-0) come into the game fresh off an 88-75 comeback victory over Nevada in which they scored 55 second-half points and overcame a 12-point deficit. Guard Oscar Bellfield led the Rebels with 22 points and freshman guard Justin Hawkins had 16.
UNLV comes into the contest with three players averaging double-figures in scoring including junior guard and leading scorer Tre’Von Willis (12.5) and Hawkins (12). The balanced UNLV squad has 10 players averaging at least six points a game. Forwards Chace Stanback, a starter, and Darris Santee, a senior reserve, share the team-lead in rebounding at 6.5 per game.
Unlike teams of Saluki past, this one can match the offensive firepower of a squad like Lon Kruger’s Rebels. Lowery is still preaching tenacious pressure defense as the key to success, but he has admittedly loosened the leash on his Dawgs because he recognizes their considerable offensive talents. With players including Kevin Dillard, Tony Freeman, Justin Bocot and Carlton Fay capable of pouring in 20 points on any given night, and capable scorers like Anthony Booker, Nick Evans and Jack Crowder, Lowery has more weapons at his disposal than ever before. With such a glut of scoring options it should be a rare night this offense has trouble scoring points or that at least one guy doesn’t have the hot hand.
Dillard, Freeman and Bocot are capable of creating their own shots, so the cumbersome, ball-control motion offense employed in the past has given way to more freestyle game predicated on attacking the basket and breaking down defenses. Dillard is the team’s primary ball-handler and most dangerous scorer, and if opponents key on stopping him he will gladly get the ball to his teammates, as evidenced by his 10 assists against Indy.
While Lowery has been pleased with his team’s offense -- aside from the 87.5 point per game they’re shooting 52 percent from both the field and 3-point range, while sharing the ball almost to a fault at times -- he won’t settle for winning shootouts and has expressed his desire for this team to hold opponents in the “low 50s.” It remains to be seen whether that is possible given this team’s more up-tempo game, which means more possessions for the opposition, but there is no question they haven’t played the type of defense needed to beat teams like UNLV or win in the MVC. That’s understandable, as offense is typically further along than defense at this point in the season, and if they can tie up a few loose ends on ‘D’ they should be in position to win this game at the end.
One of the keys to the Salukis coming home happy will be Freeman, the team’s lone senior and a former starter at the University of Iowa. Freeman has kept a low profile in the first two games by simply executing the team’s game plan against two inferior opponents, but he is this team’s emotional leader and understands the intensity, focus and execution necessary to defeat a tough opponent on the road. Look for him to step up his game at both ends of the floor against UNLV, particularly if any of the youngsters falter early.
FYI
-Southern is 1-2 all-time against UNLV. The Rebels won the last meeting 91-68 on Dec. 23, 1983.
-The Salukis are 13-4 all-time against Mountain West teams, with the last game a 57-53 victory over Wyoming on Dec. 3, 2005.
-SIU’s bench has scored 71 of the team’s 175 points (40.5 percent). Carlton Fay is the leading scorer off the bench with 29 points (14.5 per game).
-The 2008-09 Dawgs scored as many as 80 points just once, hitting that number against Massachusetts last Nov. 12 in the second game of the season.
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Salukis outpace Greyhounds for second win
Dillard's double-double leads the way
By Jason Maholy
The Reporter
Southern Illinois came out shooting again Tuesday and scorched the nets at SIU Arena as they defeated Indianapolis 84-69.
The Salukis (2-0) scored the game’s opening basket and never trailed, and outpaced the Division II Greyhounds by shooting 55 percent from the field and going 11-for-19 (58 percent) from 3-point range. The Dawgs are shooting 52 percent this season from both the field and the arc.
Sophomore guard Kevin Dillard led five Salukis who scored in double figures with 16 points and a game-high 10 assists for his first career double-double. Carlton Fay, Anthony Booker, Nick Evans and Tony Freeman chipped in with 11 points apiece. Junior guard Justin Bocot had eight points and was the only SIU starter who didn’t tally in double figures. Evans led all players with seven rebounds.
Darius Adams led Indianapolis with 21 points, while Ryan Sims had 15 points, six assists and five boards.
The Salukis, a team known for lockdown defense, are averaging 87.5 points through two games. They are also allowing an average of 66, far higher than coach Chris Lowery’s stated goal of the “low 50s,” and giving up 69 to a D2 team is unbecoming of a program that has played a smash-mouth brand of ‘D’-first basketball the better part of this decade. The Greyhounds shot 48 percent from the field and 53 percent from 3-point range, which enabled them stay within striking distance going into halftime.
The Salukis appeared to come to out of the break with a renewed focus and reeled off the first 10 points of the second stanza to take a 15-point lead. Indy responded, however, with a nine-point run of its own to get within six. Sloppy play by the Dawgs, including several turnovers and fouls during a five-minute span, allowed the Greyhounds to inch back into the contest, and the lead was down to five (54-49) with just more than 12 minutes left. Eleven of the Salukis’ 16 turnovers came in the second half.
But that was the closest Indy would get, as every time they seemed to get a little life back the Salukis would respond with a big shot of their own. SIU hit 5-of-7 treys in the second half.
Hitting those shots at crucial moments is what Southern lacked last year, when they would routinely go four or five minutes, sometimes more, without a field goal. With a plethora of weapons including Dillard, Fay, Freeman, Booker, Bocot and reserve guard Jack Crowder (six points), such lulls will likely be few and far between this season. The biggest issue thus far appears to be the defense, although the high number of points allowed has certainly been aided by Southern’s newfound up-tempo offense, which contributes to more scoring opportunities for the opposition.
The Salukis will have to mend some holes in its ‘D’, though, as the competition gets a little stiffer starting Saturday at UNLV. Southern won’t have the advantages in size and athleticism they enjoyed against Tennessee-Martin and Indianapolis, and will have to play a much tighter, efficient game to limit both the Rebels’ possessions and good looks at the basket.
Jason Maholy is managing editor of The Reporter. Email him at thereporter@comcast.net.
This is part of the November 19, 2009 online edition of The Reporter.
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