Tom Weber-SIU Media Services

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois unleashed big runs to start both halves and owned a huge advantage on the offensive glass in an 85-65 win over Bradley on Wednesday night at SIU Arena.

The Salukis (13-11, 6-5) started the first half on a 17-2 run and the second half on a 22-6 burst, as they avenged an earlier two-point loss to Bradley in Peoria, a game in which baskets were unforgettably hard to come by.

“(The first game) was all we talked about, all we talked about,” said Saluki head coach Barry Hinson, whose team was 2-for-26 from 3-point in the first meeting. “We got off to such a bad start in Peoria and we talked about the first four minutes of this game would be huge for us.”

The opening salvo was sparked by Armon Fletcher, who scored all 10 of his points on the night during the first five minutes of the game. He started with back-to-back layups and then made a pair of 3-pointers. Leo Vincent came off the bench to cap the 17-2 run with a 3-ball. He was 3-of-4 from downtown for nine points. 

Southern need a big cushion, because the offense went without a bucket during the final 8:32 of the first half, allowing Bradley to cut the deficit to 36-30 at halftime. SIU played much of that span with

its two senior leaders — Mike Rodriguez (15 points, six assists) and Sean O’Brien (11 points, four assists) — on the bench with two fouls.

Saluki guard Mike Rodriguez drives around Bradley’s Darrell Brown (SIU MEDIA SERVICES)

“Sorry, those guys that are coming in right now are doing the best they can, but they’re not Sean O’Brien and Michael Rodriguez,” Hinson said.

The Salukis quickly seized control in the second half with a 6-0 run that featured a jumper by Thik Bol, a steal and layup by Sean Lloyd and a dunk by Bol. Bradley came as close as 10 points on a jumper by Darrell Brown, but a 16-4 run put the game safely out of reach.

“We challenged them in a four-minute media mark timeout and we out-scored them 16-4 and took control of the game from that point on,” Hinson said. 

The Braves (8-16, 3-8) lost their sixth-straight game — all by double figures. They shot a respectable 48 percent from the field, but surrendered 16 offensive rebounds that led to 22 second-chance points for SIU. Bradley starts three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior, and could not overcome poor starts to both halves.

“We’ve tried every motivational tactic you can think of with this group this year at halftime and before the game,” said BU head coach Brian Wardle. “It’s pretty draining, to be quite honest, but we need to find that locker room leadership. We’re still developing that.”

The Braves had an especially woeful night from the free throw stripe where they missed more shots (16) than they made (15). Hinson credited the antics of SIU’s swim team, which was seated behind the visitor’s backboard wearing nothing buy skimpy swimwear.

The SIU “Swim Team” has overtaken the Dawg Pound. They were big in last night’s victory over Bradley (SIU Media Services photo)

“When a grown man is up there in a Speedo wearing a bikini top, it’s hard as heck to even concentrate, much less make a free throw,” Hinson said. “I met with them tonight and fed ’em pizza before the game and told them how much I appreciated them.”

For the second-straight game, the Salukis have scored a conference-high 85 points and all five starters scored in double figures. Not known as a proficient shooting team, they made 8-of-16 from 3-point range.

There are two league races going on right now. The main event is the battle at the top between Illinois State (11-0) and Wichita State (10-1). Those teams will square off for a rematch in Wichita on Saturday. The undercard is the battle for seeds 3 through 7. Five teams are bunched together with Loyola, Missouri State and SIU tied at 6-5, and Northern Iowa and Drake on their heels at 5-6. SIU plays at Loyola on Saturday in what could turn out to be a pivotal game in the standings.

Link to the full box score of the game.

http://siusalukis.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=7641