Lowery wants more from his seniors

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Seniors Bryan Mullins, Wesley Clemmons and Tony Boyle are the last remnants from the 2007 Sweet Sixteen club, so it's only natural for Southern Illinois University men's basketball coach Chris Lowery to want more from them.

The Salukis' only three eligible seniors this season were a combined 7 of 27 from the field in Sunday's 62-48 loss at Nevada. Senior Tony Freeman, a transfer from Iowa, must sit out this season per NCAA rules.

Boyle (14 points) and Mullins (13) both broke into double figures, while Clemmons finished with a season-low one point in 35 minutes. Boyle and Mullins reached double figures for the second time in the last three games, but Lowery said he'd like his three seniors to do a better job of setting the tone.

"We've got another road game, and that's where we gotta stay focused. Our seniors, combined 7 for 27, or whatever it was, they gotta make plays for us, and that's the key," Lowery said. "Our seniors gotta make plays, and when they do, the other guys will follow.

"They were the only guys that helped us come back, but they gotta be more consistent throughout the whole 40 minutes."

SIU (3-5) tries to snap its two-game losing streak tonight at Northern Illinois (4-6). The Salukis are 118-41 against the Mid-American Conference and 61-20 against the Huskies, but have reached an early scenario for a must-win game. SIU has only two nonconference games left before starting the Missouri Valley Conference season Dec. 28, one of them at home, and could enter Saturday's game against Saint Mary's (Calif.) without a road victory. The Gaels (7-1) received votes in both national polls this week.

SIU ends the nonconference slate against another MAC school, Western Michigan, on Dec. 22 at SIU Arena. Boyle said he didn't want to wait any longer to try to snap out of the slump.

The Salukis have dropped five of their last six games and fallen to No. 252 in the RPI, according to CollegeRPI.com.

"It's still early enough where we can, and I haven't given up, and I don't think anybody else has," Boyle said. "I won't let 'em."

Mullins, a senior point guard selected to the MVC preseason all-conference team, didn't shoot well against Nevada but did what he could otherwise. The 6-foot-1 lefty had two rebounds, five assists, and four steals in 37 minutes. With 25 more assists, Mullins will pass Wayne Abrams as SIU's all-time leader.

After the loss Sunday, he took some of the blame for SIU's struggles. Mullins finished 4 of 14 from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range.

"We did well, but we still had 18 turnovers," Mullins said. "The ball got where it needed to be. I gotta make shots. We gotta make shots. The seniors gotta step up."

The Salukis, who have already faced two nationally ranked teams, may not get much of a break during the conference season. Evansville, picked eighth in the preseason poll, is off to its best start since the 1981-82 season at 7-1. Six of the 10 league teams have winning records. Northern Iowa, which comes to SIU Arena on New Year's Eve, is 5-5.

With a win tonight, SIU can snap its losing streak, hand Lowery career win No. 100 and give its seven newcomers some much-needed confidence.

"We just gotta make plays. We gotta keep 'em focused on 'Here's what you gotta do to win,'" Lowery said. "If we do that, and we don't have them fall off a cliff, and be so caught up with the loss, it's about building up to, you know, down the road."

 

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Easing the pressure: Anderson evolving as Huskies boast more options


Jake Anderson still scores a lot of buckets. He still takes a lot of shots. He?s still the player Northern Illinois wants with the ball in his hands in a close situation.

So why does this year feel so different, like Anderson?s role is evolving or changing in some small, subtle way?

Because it has, even while he tries to shake some habits from last season.

Entering today?s 7 p.m. game against Southern Illinois (3-5) at the Convocation Center, Anderson leads the Huskies (4-6) in scoring at 19.7 points a game. He feels like he has more room to maneuver this season and, when things go right for the up-and-down Huskies, that creates more opportunities for his teammates. Anderson can be a distributor and create more on offense.

Here?s the case in point: On Dec. 6 against Chicago State, Anderson set a career-high with 32 points. Not one word was mentioned about it in NIU?s postgame news conference, of which Anderson was not even a part of. It was one of the quietest 32-point outbursts in NIU history, but Anderson walked off the floor on the winning team.

?I think that the team chemistry is just different this year so it may seem kind of different,? Anderson said. ?I get a lot of pressure relieved off of me having guys like [guard] Mike DiNunno. We have more of an inside prescence now with

Sean Kowal.

?This year, I?m able to create more. With my teammates converting on a lot of playmaking, it just makes a lot more stand out this year.?

And when the Huskies have shown those flashes of being a winning team, coach Ricardo Patton said Anderson still can get his points in the flow of the offense.

?We still need him to score,? Patton said. ?But we?ve got some other people that are capable of scoring as well so what we?ve tried to do is get him some help, and I think we?ve done that. So now it?s a matter of the team continuing to try and come together.?

But when NIU has not played well, some of that can be attributed to Anderson ? who certainly is not the only one ? forcing bad shots.

It?s play that can remind fans of last year?s six-win NIU team, when Anderson was asked to carry the load almost exclusively.

?A lot of the situations, I?m just forcing a lot of different types of shots, trying to just find a way to ignite my team,? Anderson said.

Patton agreed that Anderson could be trying to force too much because of last season. He wants to see Anderson make his teammates better on a more consistent basis before trying to score.

?I?d much rather see him talk a little bit more to his teammates than feel like he?s got to carry the load of doing it by himself,? Patton said. ?That puts too much pressure on him. I don?t think it necessarily helps our team.?

So now the question becomes whether or not Anderson has it in him to be that vocal leader Patton wants and which he says is the next step in Anderson?s evolving role on NIU. Patton said he hasn?t seen it yet, but says Anderson is capable of it.

?When you?re talking to a future NBA guy, really good guys make players around them better, and that certainly requires some communication,? Patton said.​