Saluki Men’s Basketball overwhelms SIUE, 86-59

By Tom Weber,  siusalukis.com

CARBONDALE, IL — Southern Illinois used a suffocating defense to overwhelm sister school SIUE, 86-59, in a battle of in-state rivals on Wednesday night at SIU Arena.

The Salukis (3-2) improved to 9-1 all-time against the Cougars (1-5), and the 27-point landslide was the largest margin of victory in the history of the series. All five starters scored in double figures for SIU, led by Sean Lloyd’s 19 points, which matched a career high.

The outcome was never in doubt as SIU staggered the visitors with a 23-3 run to start the game. SIUE missed its first 11 shots and trailed, 30-8, after Salukis guard Eric McGill sank a 3-pointer with 5:36 left before halftime. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak and improved SIU’s record to 2-0 at home.

“When you get your butt beat two times in a row, if you don’t come out with a little bit of fire, you have a problem,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson.

Kavion Pippen (siusalukis.com)

The Salukis held SIUE to 19.4 percent shooting in the first half (6-for-31), which ranks as the third-best defensive field goal percentage in a half in school history, and 29.3 percent for the game. The Cougars did end the first half on a 14-3 run to cut the deficit to 35-22 at halftime, but after trading baskets to start the second half, never came closer than 13.

SIU’s front-court tandem of Kavion Pippen (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Jonathan Wiley (12 points, 10 rebounds) helped Southern compile an overwhelming 44-22 advantage in points in the paint.

“Both big guys get double-doubles tonight — that’s pretty impressive — especially when Jonathan is so efficient on seven shots,” Hinson said.

The success of the bigs inside opened up the perimeter for shooters, as Southern connected on 8-of-15 tries from outside the arc. Five different players made treys and SIU shot 53 percent from both the field and from three.

“They were the aggressors and we were on our heels,” said SIUE coach Jon Harris. “We were reacting to them.”

The margin of victory could have been larger if not for big runs by SIUE at the end of both halves. The Salukis led by as many as 41 points with less than five minutes to go in the second half, before the Cougars closed the game on a 13-0 run.

“I’ll tell you another thing that motivated us — what happened to our women the other night (losing to SIUE) — we take all of that in and know how big a game this is,” Hinson said. “We have to represent our region.”

Armon Fletcher (siusalukis.com)

Saluki guards Aaron Cook (13 points, four assists) and Armon Fletcher (11 points, five assists) also had solid performances. Fletcher was 4-for-5 from the field and showed signs of breaking out of a recent shooting slump.

“Armon needs to defend, rebound and make uncontested open shots,” Hinson said. “Tonight was a big game — I challenged Armon personally. Me and him met one-on-one.”

The Salukis will play five of their next six games at home, beginning with Saturday’s game versus San Jose State at 3 p.m.