Salukis come up aces in Vegas

Dual comeback wins mark second trip west

By Jason Maholy

Southern Illinois didn’t play consistently great basketball during a two-game weekend sojourn to Las Vegas, but may have played its best ball of the season when it mattered most as the Salukis stole two victories by coming from behind in the final minutes of both contests.

The Salukis defeated San Diego in dramatic fashion Saturday night, when they scored the game’s final 13 points in a 70-68 win; then followed that with a 67-66 victory Sunday over San Francisco, made possible by sophomore guard Kevin Dillard’s driving layup with 12 seconds left. The heart-stopping triumphs sent the Dawgs back to Carbondale at 7-2 and winners of four straight as they prepare to start the Missouri Conference Valley schedule Dec. 29 against Indiana State at SIU Arena.

Southern came into the Holiday Hoops Classic with more questions than answers regarding how much they’ve improved since last season. The Salukis’ five wins prior to the Vegas trip had all been by at least 10 points against markedly inferior competition, and they were never seriously challenged in any of those games. In the team’s two losses to UNLV and Saint Louis, they showed immaturity and an inability to mount much of a comeback once they fell behind – problems that plagued them during last season’s 13-18 effort. It was uncertain heading into the weekend whether these guys would be able to execute down the stretch and pull out tight games.

The Dawgs answered that question in both games. Why they were in that position against the Toreros and Dons -- teams that came into the weekend a combined 8-13 and lost to South Florida by 20 and 10 points, respectively, during the two-game stint -- is a legitimate question; but a win is a win, so give these Salukis credit for hanging tough, fighting back and making plays at both ends of the floor in crunch time. They showed, despite their flaws, that they’re progressing in their mental preparedness and resiliency, while at the same time learning how to make key defensive stops and turning those stops into points at the other end. SIU was down as many as 15 points to San Diego and trailed 42-29 at halftime, but limited the Toreros to 4-for-24 from the field in the second stanza and held them without a field goal for the final 7:27.

It is also evident players are settling into roles, and that guys such as Dillard, Justin Bocot and Carlton Fay aren’t afraid to – and can hit -- clutch shots. Dillard scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, dished out seven assists and pulled down six rebounds against San Diego, while Bocot poured in a game-high 22 points while hitting two crucial 3-pointers, making a key steal and draining two free throws during the 13-point, game-ending flurry. Fay’s two free throws with 2.5 seconds left turned out to be the winning points.

Sophomore center Nick Evans, meanwhile, was able to put possibly his worst performance of the season (four points, 1-for-5 from the field, one rebound, five turnovers and four personal fouls) behind him to block a shot and grab a critical rebound down the stretch.

It was Dillard and Fay playing heroes again against San Francisco in a game in which the Salukis trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half. A trey by Dillard and two more by Fay brought the Dawgs to within four at the break, and both players made key plays in the game’s waning minutes to help Southern come out on top. Dillard finished with 18 points (8-of-12 from the field, 2-of-3 from 3-point range) and nine assists and made the game-winning shot on a play designed for him, while Fay scored 15 points and hit three of his six tries from behind the arc.

Senior guard Tony Freeman contributed 14 points and forced Dons’ guard Kwame Vaughn to take a difficult shot on the game’s final play, sealing the victory. Evans scored just six points but had three blocks and two steals, and is beginning to establish himself as an interior defensive presence.

SIU won’t play next until the Sycamores come calling next Tuesday, and the long layoff will be welcome with junior guard Jack Crowder already out (shoulder) and junior guard John Freeman and freshman center Eugene Teague seeing limited action because of injuries. Freeman, one of the team’s best defenders who had played himself into the starting lineup during just his first year with the program, played just 20 minutes in Vegas due to a nagging hamstring injury. Having a healthy Freeman and Teague will be essential during the conference season, which is looking more foreboding by the day as teams like Wichita State (10-1) and Missouri State (10-0) have gotten off to fast starts to join preseason favorite Northern Iowa (8-1) and a formidable Illinois State (8-2) squad as contenders in the Valley.

The Salukis have not been as impressive as any of those teams and are for now bunched in with Indiana State, Bradley and Creighton in the middle of the Valley pack. The Dawgs have made progress, but are still learning how to win and how to bring 40 minutes of intensity each and every game. The comeback wins in Vegas are encouraging, but the fact they were on the verge of losing both of those contests to teams that likely won’t be playing any sort of significant postseason ball is evidence this squad has a ways to go before it can be considered a legitimate threat to the conference crown. This team is still too inconsistent all around, but particularly on defense, which they must shore up if they are to have any chance against the top Valley teams. San Diego shot 66.7 percent in the first half and even after making just four shots in the second half finished at 48.9 percent, while San Francisco shot 49.7 percent from the field. Neither of those teams possesses the talent or offensive firepower of Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Creighton or Wichita State.

SIU will also need more consistent offensive contributions from Bocot (7.6 ppg) and Anthony Booker (7.1 ppg) because defenses are going to key on stopping Dillard and Fay, who have emerged as this team’s go-to scorers. Bocot has proven capable of scoring 20 points on any given night, but is too often too inconsistent to be a major factor. Booker has been playing better of late but has yet to establish himself as the inside scoring threat he must be in order to provide his teammates open lanes and good looks at the hoop. He has been the slowest of the Salukis’ youngsters to develop and every so often appears on the cusp of greatness, only to take a step back and keep questions alive about his durability and desire. The emergence of Dillard and Fay, the steadiness provided by Tony Freeman, and the development of Evans and Bocot will keep the Salukis competitive in a rugged Valley, but whether Booker can take his game to the next level may be the difference between this team being a contender or also-ran.

Hot-shooting Salukis bring down Skyhawks

Dawgs go 50 percent from field, hit 12 3-pointers

By Jason Maholy


Carlton Fay scored 18 points to lead five Salukis in double figures as Southern Illinois routed Tennessee-Martin 91-63 Saturday in the season opener for both teams.

Southern guards Kevin Dillard and Kendal Brown-Surles dropped in 14 and 12 points, respectively, while senior guard Tony Freeman and sophomore forward Anthony Booker chipped in 10 apiece. Booker also grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots, while Nick Evans had four points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Rueben Clay's 16 points led Tennessee-Martin, while Benzor Simmons had 14. No other Skyhawk scored more than eight points for a squad that shot 37.7 (20-53) percent from the field and 18.8 percent (3-16) from the arc, and committed 23 turnovers.

The Salukis played far from perfect basketball but rolled over UT-Martin, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, with blistering shooting from the field. The Salukis shot 50 percent from the field and were 12-25 (48 percent) from 3-point range. They outrebounded the Skyhawks by just three, committed 28 fouls, turned the ball over 17 times and shot a lukewarm 70 percent (21-30) from the charity stripe, but simply overmatched a team with four first-year starters and no players that averaged more than 5.7 points per game last season.

UT-Martin scored the game's first two points but never led again. SIU went on a 19-4 run over the next 7:23 and led 43-25 at halftime. The Salukis' biggest lead was 33 points, when Brown-Surles' second 3-pointer put them up 82-49 with 6:02 left. They scored 90 or more points for the first time since beating Evansville 93-67 in March 2004 in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The win was the Salukis' 100th at SIU Arena, against 12 losses, since the start of the 2001-02 season. Southern Illinois has won 11 straight season openers.

Fay, a junior forward who started all 31 games last season, was suspended for SIU's two exhibition games and didn't start the opener. The lack of game time during the preseason didn't hinder him, as he hit 6-of-7 field goals and was 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in 15 minutes. He also grabbed five rebounds and didn't commit a turnover.

Brown-Surles, a 5-10 freshman out of Harrison High School in Evansville, Ind., was 4-of-6 from long range and dished out five assists while committing just one turnover in 20 minutes. He scored all of his points in the second half.

Dillard, a sophomore who is being counted on to help carry the Salukis, was 4-for-7 from the field including 2-of-4 from long range, and hit all four if his free-throw attempts. The Homewood-Flossmoor High School product also handed out four assists, had two steals and didn't turn the ball over.

Junior college transfers Jack Crowder and John Freeman, both junior guards, each scored seven points off the bench for Southern. All 13 players on the Salukis' active roster got into the game.

Three players committed 12 of SIU's 17 turnovers. Junior guard Justin Bocot (9 points) led the squad with five while Evans, a 6-11 sophomore center, had four and Freeman three. Four Salukis committed four personal fouls apiece.