By Mark Bennett
Before his Indiana State Sycamores played
Southern Illinois, ISU Coach Royce Waltman called the Salukis
the best team in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Nothing that happened Saturday night in SIU
Arena dispelled that assessment.
First-place Southern Illinois (16-3 overall,
6-1 in the MVC) beat the struggling Sycamores (3-13 1-6) by a
score of 91-73. The Salukis' point total was the most by an ISU
opponent since another Sycamore loss in SIU Arena, 99-61 back
on Jan. 25, 1997.
ISU led early, but got overwhelmed by big
SIU scoring runs.
"In reality we might have on borrowed
time," Waltman said. "They just played at a much better
pace than us, and as that goes throughout the game, it's going
to catch up to you."
Youth helped build ISU's early lead. Freshman
forward Jake Sams scored the Sycamores' first nine points on
three 3-pointers for a 9-6 edge. Freshman point guard Lamar Grimes
hit a jumper from the lane, and a minute later the 6-foot Grimes
dropped in a rebound basket on a miss by 6-8 teammate Djibril
Kante. ISU led 13-8.
And those kids added a few more bright spots.
Sams bounced a pass through arms and legs
down the lane to Kante for a layup, and then sophomore Marcus
Howard hit a 3-pointer to stretch the ISU lead to 18-12.
Afterward, Sycamore Coach Royce Waltman briefly
went with a young lineup of his three freshmen - Sams, Grimes
and Jerod Adler - and sophomores Howard and Matt Berry.
But the experienced Salukis were only temporarily
wounded by ISU's start.
"I don't think we were real concerned,"
said SIU's star junior Kent Williams. "We were just focused
on what we needed to do."
After sophomore Michael Kernan's 3-pointer
gave the Sycamores a 21-15 lead with just under 11 minutes left
in the first half, Southern Illinois' defense began to steal
the ball and the lead from ISU.
During a 15-2 run, five different Salukis
scored. Three consecutive Sycamore possessions died on steals
by Jermaine Dearman and Stetson Hairston. Southern Illinois regained
the lead at 23-21 on a 3-pointer by Marcus Belcher with 7 minutes
and 10 seconds left in the first half. A jumpshot by Grimes tied
it back up. But Hairston quickly hit a layup and Southern Illinois
had the lead for good at 25-23.
"I just go in there and play hard every
game, and get some steals that lead to easy buckets," Hairston
said. "And that's what happened tonight."
Grimes, who had 10 points by halftime, quieted
a raucous and large Saluki crowd by driving for a layup as the
first half ended with Southern Illinois leading 42-33.
But a statistic that has plagued ISU all season
was already apparent. The Salukis outrebounded the Sycamores
26-16 in the first half, and 14 of those Southern Illinois rebounds
were offensive. And the Salukis turned the ball over just twice
in those first 20 minutes.
"Their offensive rebounds and those turnovers
are the biggest indicators that they play at a much better pace
than us," Waltman said.
Grimes opened the second half with a 3-pointer,
bringing ISU within six points at 42-36. That was as close as
it got.
By game's end, six Salukis scored in double
figures, led by Belcher's 17 points, Williams with 14 and Roberts
with 13. Roberts also had 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Dearman also had a statistical double-double with 11 points and
10 rebounds.
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| Southern
Illinoisan/Chuch Novara |
| Defended: Southern Illinois'
Darren Brooks (center) tries to get a shot off over Indiana State's
Jerod Adler (left) and past the arm of ISU's Matt Berry during
Saturday night's game in the SIU Arena at Carbondale, Ill. SIU
won the Missouri Valley Conference game 91-73. |
Southern Illinois outrebounded ISU 49-31,
and got 23 offensive boards.
Kante led ISU with seven rebounds, to go with
18 points. Grimes finished with a career-high 21 points, but
also had seven of the Sycamores' 16 turnovers. Waltman was more
concerned with Grimes' defensive play, and praised his offensive
effort, especially with injured seniors Kelyn Block and Terence
Avery out. "I don't get too upset with his turnovers, because
he's asked to handle the ball too much," Waltman said of
Grimes.
Sams and Howard added 11 points each.
Kante, battling Roberts and Dearman inside,
had a rough first half with two points and two fouls. Waltman
gave him a rare halftime lecture, and he responded with 16 of
his points after the break.
"He just went out and played a tremendous
second half," Waltman said.
Now the Sycamores' road stretch continues
with Wednesday's 8:05 p.m. game at Northern Iowa. The Panthers
(9-6, 4-2) play at Drake today.
"We just have to pick up," Kante
said. "We can't dwell on any game."
Roster thin
- ISU had only eight players in uniform Saturday. Sycamore senior
center Terence Avery missed his second consecutive game because
of a broken bone in his right shooting hand. He watched the game
in street clothes from the bench, along with senior guard Kelyn
Block.
Avery has an OK to play, but lingering pain
from the injury has limited his ability to catch passes.
Block is recovering from Jan. 4 surgery to
repair a muscle tear near his kneecap. On Friday, ISU head athletic
trainer Dave Ralston said Block could return to the court for
practices after this Wednesday's game at Northern Iowa, but only
for agility drills at first.
He could be able to play by either the Jan.
27 home game against Southwest Missouri State or the Jan. 31
game at Bradley, Ralston said.
This week's workouts "will kind of dictate
whether he can play [against SMS] or the following Wednesday
[at Bradley]," Ralston said.
Also, walk-on point guard Batiste Haywood,
who scored a career-high eight points in a 64-63 loss to visiting
Wichita State on Wednesday, did not join the team on the trip
to Carbondale. "He did not show up for practice on Friday.
That's as much as I know," Waltman said. "And I'll
tell you more as that soap opera unfolds."
Numbers - ISU
must now win its final 11 games to finish the regular season
above .500 for the fourth straight year. The last Sycamore team
to go 3-13 was in 1993-94. Coach Tates Locke's squad didn't get
its fourth victory until its 23rd game and finished 4-22. ISU
hasn't won in Carbondale since Jan. 15, 1981.
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