CARBONDALE — All those long rebounds just got tougher to get past SIU’s men’s basketball team Sunday.

Here’s the link to the story.

CARBONDALE — The SIU Coaches Caravan makes its second stop of a four-date tour of the region Tuesday night in Harrisburg.

Here’s the link to the story.

INA, Ill. – The Rend Lake College Men’s Basketball team defeated John Wood Community College 83-68 Saturday at home. The Warriors are now 2-0 for the season.

Leading in the scoring column was starter Cory Thomas (Louisville, Ky.) with 18 points. He also logged five rebounds, three assists, and one steal during the game. He was followed by freshman Adrian Smith (Aurora) with 15 points, one rebound, and one assist. Two other starters landed points in the double digits, including Derek Novsek (Reno, Nev.) with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal; and Dedric Byrd (Champaign) with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Defensively, RLC stopped many runs by John Wood. Freshman Jamaya Wyatt (Chicago) brought down seven rebounds for the Warriors, in addition to scoring eight points and assisting three. Will Presson (Belleville) had another five rebounds throughout the night. South Holland native Chelby Frazier logged a rebound and three steals against John Wood, adding two points to the board and one assist. Wayne Ward (Chicago) also had two rebounds, two blocks, one steal, and four points.

Other reserve players contributed to the Warriors win. Deshon Fluckes (Chicago) had two points; Anton Ivy (Peoria) had four points, one steal, and two blocks; Luke Wilson (Mt. Vernon) logged two points; Khalil Toombs (Champaign) added three points; Devonte Williams (Cahokia) scored two points, and added one rebound and four blocks defensively; and Jeremy Franklin (Cahokia) added one rebound, block, and steal.

For complete results from the game, visit www.gracsports.com. The Warriors will take on Lincoln College at 7 p.m. tomorrow at home, followed by their first road game facing Parkland College at 7 p.m. Thursday in Champaign. For all things athletic at The Lake, visit www.rlc.edu/warriors.

By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com

Final Stats   |  Photo Gallery 

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.”

By: Will Becque
SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The “Inside Saluki Women’s Basketball” weekly radio show, hosted by Bryce Williams and featuring Southern Illinois University women’s head basketball coach Cindy Stein, will debut on Nov. 10 with a luncheon in the Cook Club inside SIU Arena.

“Inside Saluki Women’s Basketball” is a weekly program featuring SIU coaches and players that will air on 105.1 FM WVZA every Tuesday night at 6:30-7 p.m.

In addition, beginning with the debut show on Nov. 10 and continuing on the first Tuesday of every month, the show will be taped during a luncheon in the Cook Club from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Taping of the show starts at 12:15 p.m., with fans encouraged to attend and an optional $6 lunch is available. Fans who wish to purchase lunch are asked to RSVP to Carmen Dammerman at (618) 453-5448 or by email at cdammerman@siu.edu

ST. LOUIS, Mo. After a career-high performance last weekend against Loyola, junior Meg Viggars was named Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.

In Southern Illinois’ 3-2 victory over Loyola on Friday to move into second place in the Valley standings, Viggars finished with a career-high 14 blocks, including two solo, which ranks third all-time at SIU for most block assists in a single match.

Her three block assists in Saturday’s match against Bradley puts Viggars at 100 block assists this season. Viggars also added 18 digs and three service aces to the Salukis’ efforts, along with 60 total assists. Last weekend’s performances puts Viggars in fourth place in the MVC for blocks, averaging 1.04 per set.

Viggars has consistently produced impressive results for the Salukis in every statistical category this season, ranking in the top three on the team for each stat. In Friday’s match against Loyola, Viggars was only three kills and two digs away from securing a quadruple double, a feat that was accomplished for the first time since 2010 this season by Colorado State’s Adrianna Culbert. Overall, Viggars averages 2.16 kills, 5.56 assists, 0.17 aces, 2.39 digs and 1.04 blocks per set.