Southern Illinois News

Salukis Get Defensive; Rally to Take Down Indiana State on the Road

Southern Illinois men's basketball rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat Indiana State, 69-61, Wednesday night at Hulman Center. The Saluki defense held Indiana State to just 25 points in the second half while tying a season-low in total points for the Sycamores.
 
The victory moves Southern to 13-5 on the season and 5-2 in Missouri Valley Conference action while the loss was the first in Valley play for Indiana State as the Sycamores fell to 13-5 and 6-1 in League play.
 
The Salukis were able to lock in on the defensive end, limiting the Sycamores to just four points over a 10-minute stretch in the second half.
 
"We had to make them a little more uncomfortable, increase our ball pressure, increase our physicality, and take care of the ball in the second half," head coach Bryan Mullins said postgame. "Our toughness guarding the paint and in the post really increased, and we didn't allow them to get a lot of easy cuts and easy post-ups. We knew if we could get stops, we would be able to push the ball and get some momentum offensively."
 
Southern would use a 19-4 run in the second half to take its first lead since the opening minute of action when JD Muila was able to get a five-footer to go and give SIU a 46-45 advantage. Xavier Johnson's impact on the game came in several areas but most notable was his ability to get to the charity stripe where he converted 11 of his 12 attempts with 12 of his 13 points coming in the second half.
 
After hitting one of the biggest 3-pointers of the game in Terre Haute a season ago, Troy D'Amico made himself right at home once again as the Salukis were plus-20 while the forward was on the court Wednesday night. D'Amico had six points and four rebounds in the game but most important was his play on the defensive end. The Chicago native tied a career-high with two blocks in the game as the Salukis ended the game with four -- tying a season-high.
 
The Salukis scored the first basket of the game, but Indiana State went on to score 11-straight points to take an early advantage. Senior JD Muila would snap the nearly four-minute scoring drought for SIU in his first touch off the bench.
 
Indiana State would go up 27-12 with just under eight minutes left in the half but that is when the Salukis began their comeback. Lance Jones – who led SIU with 18 points – dropped in eight points over the final eight minutes of the first half as Southern outscored SIU 14-9 to close out the half and go into the locker room down just 10 points.
 
Along with its stellar defense in the second half, Southern was also able to take care of the ball with just five turnovers over the final 20 minutes. The Salukis were also able to win the battle on the boards in the second half 21-12 after ISU took a 16-15 advantage into the locker room at the break. 

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