Saluki Men’s Basketball cruises past Maryville, 106-73, in exhibition tuneup

By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com

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CARBONDALE, Ill. – Fourteen different players recorded points for Southern Illinois as the Salukis breezed to a 106-73 exhibition win over Maryville on Monday night.

SIU head coach Barry Hinson said he hand-picked the Division II Saints because they run the same “Princeton Offense” that Southern will face on Friday night in the regular-season opener against Air Force.

Tyler Smithpeters

“There’s no coach in America that says I want to guard the Princeton system in the first exhibition game, but we did it to hopefully help us with Air Force,” Hinson said. “We’re going on three weeks tonight in preparation for this specific one game.”

The Salukis had no problem shutting down Maryville to start the game. In fact, they pitched a shutout, 18-0, during the first eight-and-half minutes of the contest, forcing the Saints into eight missed shots and eight turnovers.

All-conference guard Anthony Beane had just six points on 3-of-10 shooting, but Southern didn’t need his production. Two returning starters sparked the offense in the first half, as Sean O’Brien had 13 of his game-high 17 points in the opening half, and Tyler Smithpeters had eight points and six assists in the first frame. Smithpeters ended the night as the team’s second-leading scorer with a dozen points.

“I told you at Media Day, he’s going to have a heckuva year,” Hinson said. “I’m going to stand by it. I think Tyler Smithpeters is going to have a great year.”

The Salukis dominated every phase of the game. They shot 63 percent from the field, compared to 44 percent for Maryville. They more than doubled the Saints’ rebounding total, 45-22. SIU also had 23 assists — a statistic that jumped off the stat sheet for Hinson.

“I’m tired of finishing last in the Valley in assists,” he said. “Matter of fact, I’m extremely upset about it. I told our coaches, if they cannot pass, dribble or shoot, they are not coming to Southern Illinois University.”

After building a 48-27 halftime lead, the Salukis went deep into their bench, allowing some of the transfers and freshmen an opportunity to showcase their talents. Junior college forward Jeremy Postal connected on 3-of-4 shots from 3-point range and had 11 points, while redshirt freshman guard Armon Fletcher added 10 points and three steals. Every player except walk-on Bobby Mannie converted at least one field goal.

With seven new scholarship players, Hinson said the game was an opportunity for the newcomers to get their first taste of Division I basketball.

“Guys play underneath the lights, newcomers get to play in front of our fans, get the deer in the headlight deal out of your system,” he said. “Now the big boys come to town — the guys that run this offense the real way.”