Salukis outpace Greyhounds for second win

Dillard's double-double leads the way

By Jason Maholy

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.

Those shots at crucial moments are 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.