Up 58-57 at Murray State Friday night, Southern Illinois University forward Sean O'Brien sized up 6-foot-8 Brion Sanchious as he got the basketball in the left corner of the court.
O'Brien, a 6-7, 215-pound junior guard/forward, got past Sanchious in about three dribbles along the baseline and converted the wraparound layup for a three-point lead.
The Salukis went on to beat the Racers 88-73 behind Anthony Beane's 22 points and 25 from the bench. Not many teams have been able to keep up with SIU (10-2) this season at the defensive end.
SIU averaged 59.6 points per game last season, the third-lowest in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Beane (20.7 points per game), the eighth-highest scorer in school history with 1,548 career points, O'Brien (14.2) and point guard Mike Rodriguez (11) all average double figures. Along with Beane, who has two 30-point games this season, O'Brien has been particularly impressive, as he's nearly doubled his scoring average from last season (7.4 points per game). O'Brien is shooting a career-best 50.4 percent from the field and has reached double figures in nine straight games.
"He is a poor man's 4-man that you have to guard and pay attention to at all times," SIU coach Barry Hinson said. "He is slippery like a snake and gets through anything."
Five others have scored 10 points or more in at last one game this season: starting guard Tyler Smithpeters, starting forward Bola Olaniyan, guard Armon Fletcher, guard Leo Vincent and forward Austin Weiher.
Rodriguez, a junior college transfer who has 46 assists and 16 turnovers in 12 games, has been SIU's biggest addition at both ends of the floor. His 46 assists are 22 more than anyone else on the roster, and his 15 steals also lead the team. Newbies like Vincent, who has 28 points in his last two games, and Fletcher have also made it tough for opponents to concentrate solely on Beane.
"I think that's one of our biggest assets, playing with guys who can create their own shot," said Vincent, who had 17 points off the bench at Murray State. "Guys who know the game. Guys with great IQ. You got Sean, Mike, Ant, Ty, me, Armon. Everybody we pretty much bring off the bench, they know how to play the game of basketball, so that makes everything easier for us."
Saint Louis, losers of five of its last six games, is looking for anything easy tonight to try to get back on the winning track. The Billikens shot 52 percent from the field in Saturday's 76-68 loss to Indiana State but allowed the Sycamores to score 28 points off their season-high 22 turnovers.
The Salukis probably won't get another shot at SIU-Edwardsville, which defeated SIU 76-74 Dec. 9 in Carbondale, but could cap their highly-regional non-conference schedule with a big victory tonight. The Salukis beat Southeast Missouri State, which defeated SIU last season, by 24, and topped Murray State for the first time since renewing their series in 2013 on Friday.
They have dropped five straight games to the Billikens, and won't play again after tonight until opening Missouri Valley Conference play at Loyola on Dec. 30.
"It's a little bit different," Hinson said after Friday's win. "This is a little bit different win over a very good basketball team, a team that is a potential NCAA berth team. And I think the guys in our locker room are saying 'Let's go. One more, coach.' They want one more, so I'll be shocked if we don't play well."
O'Brien, a 6-7, 215-pound junior guard/forward, got past Sanchious in about three dribbles along the baseline and converted the wraparound layup for a three-point lead.
The Salukis went on to beat the Racers 88-73 behind Anthony Beane's 22 points and 25 from the bench. Not many teams have been able to keep up with SIU (10-2) this season at the defensive end.
SIU averaged 59.6 points per game last season, the third-lowest in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Beane (20.7 points per game), the eighth-highest scorer in school history with 1,548 career points, O'Brien (14.2) and point guard Mike Rodriguez (11) all average double figures. Along with Beane, who has two 30-point games this season, O'Brien has been particularly impressive, as he's nearly doubled his scoring average from last season (7.4 points per game). O'Brien is shooting a career-best 50.4 percent from the field and has reached double figures in nine straight games.
"He is a poor man's 4-man that you have to guard and pay attention to at all times," SIU coach Barry Hinson said. "He is slippery like a snake and gets through anything."
Five others have scored 10 points or more in at last one game this season: starting guard Tyler Smithpeters, starting forward Bola Olaniyan, guard Armon Fletcher, guard Leo Vincent and forward Austin Weiher.
Rodriguez, a junior college transfer who has 46 assists and 16 turnovers in 12 games, has been SIU's biggest addition at both ends of the floor. His 46 assists are 22 more than anyone else on the roster, and his 15 steals also lead the team. Newbies like Vincent, who has 28 points in his last two games, and Fletcher have also made it tough for opponents to concentrate solely on Beane.
"I think that's one of our biggest assets, playing with guys who can create their own shot," said Vincent, who had 17 points off the bench at Murray State. "Guys who know the game. Guys with great IQ. You got Sean, Mike, Ant, Ty, me, Armon. Everybody we pretty much bring off the bench, they know how to play the game of basketball, so that makes everything easier for us."
Saint Louis, losers of five of its last six games, is looking for anything easy tonight to try to get back on the winning track. The Billikens shot 52 percent from the field in Saturday's 76-68 loss to Indiana State but allowed the Sycamores to score 28 points off their season-high 22 turnovers.
The Salukis probably won't get another shot at SIU-Edwardsville, which defeated SIU 76-74 Dec. 9 in Carbondale, but could cap their highly-regional non-conference schedule with a big victory tonight. The Salukis beat Southeast Missouri State, which defeated SIU last season, by 24, and topped Murray State for the first time since renewing their series in 2013 on Friday.
They have dropped five straight games to the Billikens, and won't play again after tonight until opening Missouri Valley Conference play at Loyola on Dec. 30.
"It's a little bit different," Hinson said after Friday's win. "This is a little bit different win over a very good basketball team, a team that is a potential NCAA berth team. And I think the guys in our locker room are saying 'Let's go. One more, coach.' They want one more, so I'll be shocked if we don't play well."
