Salukis like their options for next late-game situation

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Northern Illinois didn't present Southern Illinois University's men's basketball team with much of a late-game situation, but when it arrives this league season, Saluki coach Chris Lowery said he likes his options.

SIU (6-5) and Drake (5-6) open their 18-game Missouri Valley Conference schedules tonight in Des Moines.

The Salukis finished ninth in the league last season for the first time since 1981 because they dropped eight MVC games by five points or less. SIU is 0-1 in that scenario this season, falling to Northeastern in overtime in its home opener, 63-62, after the Salukis called a timeout it did not have in the final seconds. Lowery said he has a few options when the team needs a bucket late.

"I think that we have guys that we want to have the ball, and be safe with," Lowery said. "I think we understand who takes care of the ball in clutch situations, who doesn't, so, I think that's been efficient for us, right now, to know those things."

The Salukis have produced both tragedy and triumph down the stretch this season, beginning with the technical foul against the Huskies. SIU grinded out a 56-50 win over Wright State as part of the Chicago Invitational Challenge and were up by four with 6:09 to play at Western Kentucky before falling 53-46.

John Freeman, a career 80.8 percent free-throw shooter at SIU, could be one of the Salukis' options if they're ahead tonight in the final two minutes.

"I think we can do pretty well in close games," Freeman said. "We've executed toward the end, and we've knocked down free throws when it counts, so, I think that's going to help us a lot."

Carlton Fay, Gene Teague and Mamadou Seck appear to be SIU's other best options as it tries to pay back the Bulldogs for three losses last season. Drake ended the Salukis' 15-15 season in the MVC tournament after guard Josh Young, the Bulldogs' all-time leading scorer, hit the winning jumper with 1.5 seconds to play in St. Louis.



Etc.: DU center Seth VanDeest and Teague played with Missouri State guard Adam Leonard and Bradley guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards on a travel team in Europe this past summer. ... SIU lost to Drake by five, seven and two points, respectively, in their three games last season. The Bulldogs are 2-1 this season in games decided by five points or less.

 

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Salukis open Valley play after challenging non-conference





Six wins in the books in 11 games. And SIU?s men?s basketball team probably could have two more, with the loss at home against Northeastern in overtime and the game at Western Kentucky.

But, regardless of its record, the Salukis got what it wanted out of its non-conference schedule. SIU was challenged by two very good Big 10 schools, and learned sometimes good defense is not enough. The Salukis faced a very tough team at home (New Mexico), and learned what happens when you don?t completely show up to compete. SIU also proved its defense might be enough to keep it in a lot of games this season, evidenced by the rough and tumble 56-50 win over Wright State in Hoffman Estates and the job the Salukis did on Northern Illinois last week.

?I think we had a tough preseason,? SIU guard Jack Crowder said after the win over NIU. ?We had to play some pretty good teams, some top 10 teams, and I think that?s really getting us ready for the Valley, and I think we should finish pretty good in the Valley, just based off the teams we?ve played.?

SIU smoothed out its rotation, and got, really, what its starting lineup will probably be the rest of the season, barring injuries. Mamadou Seck emerged from a crowded pack of talented backups into the starting five, and SIU has developed a very difficult frontline to match up with, with Gene Teague in the middle, Seck a perimeter threat as much as an interior scorer, and Carlton Fay capable of a bit of both. Diamond Taylor had a nice debut and should add to the depth off the bench. If Justin Bocot snaps out of his shooting slump (he is 3 for his last 20 from the field), he could add even more.

SIU?s glaring weakness? Not a lot of depth up front, and turnovers. In SIU?s five losses, the Salukis gave away 18, 23, 25, 15 and 23. In the six victories, 14, 14, 16, six, 11 and 19.

?That?s the one thing that?s been consistent,? SIU coach Chris Lowery said. ?Why we?ve lost, it?s ?cause of turnovers, and that?s the key. Positioning, at times, offensively. Obviously, the Purdue and Illinois games, they were better than us. Straight up. They were better. Everybody else, we made a lot of mistakes in those games, so, being able to come back from mistakes, and the key is, they take coaching, and that?s how we?re able to be resilient.?

 

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S. Ill Center Gene Teague is doubtful Wednesday vs. Drake --ankle injury.

 

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Drake men enter Valley play with eyes wide open



Seth VanDeest is an elder statesman at age 19.

The Drake center finds himself dispensing advice to his younger teammates as Missouri Valley Conference play opens Wednesday with a 7 p.m. home game against Southern Illinois.

?Seth said, ?If you think these games are tough, they take things way more serious in the conference,?? freshman forward Rayvonte Rice relayed. ??Every away game, they?ll be chanting stuff all over the crowd, about you, coaches, everything.? He just said it?s more intense.

?I?m looking forward to it, especially the home games. They?re going to be yelling some crazy stuff, and I can?t wait to listen.?



It will be an eye- and ear-opening experience for much of the Bulldog roster when the conference slate begins after an up-and-down nonconference season has them sitting at 5-6. No Drake player has more than one season of Valley play to draw upon.

?If you think about it, you have Seth, you have Ryan (Wedel) and Frank (Wiseler). Even Ben (Simons) and Reece (Uhlenhopp) and Aaron Hawley, you can?t say that they had appreciable experience last year,? coach Mark Phelps said. ?So there?s only three of those guys that have actually been in the heat of the battle on a consistent basis. It?s going to be important to do what we do, and play with poise.?

Toward that end, it will help to open at home against Southern Illinois (6-5), another team struggling to find an identity. But the Salukis will come in burning for revenge.

?They beat us three times last year, and every one of them we led late,? Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery said. ?You should not be able to beat somebody three times. That didn?t sit well with us and it shouldn?t sit well with our players.?

It will be the first of 18 tests for the Bulldogs, who will follow the home game with their toughest road swing of the season, at Creighton and Wichita State, the favorite to win the league title.

Simons, who broke loose with a season-high 22 points off the bench in Thursday?s victory over Chicago State, knows the Valley will be a grind.

?At least us sophomores have a little taste of it,? he said. ?It?s a lot different.

?Obviously, the scouting?s way different. Everyone knows what everyone?s doing. You?ve been watching them all year. And you play them twice; when the second time comes around, there?s no surprises. So you just have to execute really good. Most of the time the team that plays harder and executes wins the game.?

ABOUT THE SALUKIS: They are shooting just 28.2 percent from 3-point range, and no player has made more than nine.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Rice has been remarkably consistent for a freshman, scoring in double figures in the past nine games.

WHAT TO WATCH: Sophomore centers Teague (doubtful) and VanDeest will be the pivotal players. Which one will make the smarter decisions when faced with the inevitable double-teams, and will they both be able to stay out of foul trouble? Drake has better perimeter shooting and a more balanced scoring load.