CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois men’s basketball team overcame a 21-point deficit with a huge second half to beat Northern Iowa 70-62 on Wednesday night at SIU Arena. The comeback tied for the fifth-biggest comeback in Missouri Valley Conference history.

“I can easily say this, it’s one of the grittiest defensive comebacks I’ve ever seen a team make, and just refuse to quit,” SIU head coach Barry Hinson said. “Everybody in tonight’s ballgame contributed. Our bench was absolutely outstanding. They would just not let us get beat.”

SIU (10-10, 3-4 MVC) trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half and went into the halftime trailing by 16. The Salukis held Northern Iowa (8-12, 3-4 MVC) scoreless for the first eight minutes of the second half and ignited an incredible, improbable rally that saw the Salukis outscore the Panthers 51-27 in the second half alone.

“The first 10 possessions of the second half were the game,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “We needed to handle those 10 possessions, and we did not, obviously. We turned it over far too many times–five of the first six (possessions), and that didn’t hurt us, in terms of giving up points, but the turnovers that came after that led right to layups. Our defense was so good in the first half. Obviously, when you turn it over and they go lay it in, your defense isn’t a factor anymore.”

Southern had lost four games in a row and appeared headed for a fifth-straight defeat, but Aaron Cook, Eric McGill, Sean Lloyd Jr. and Darius Beane sparked a masterful defensive second half that forced UNI into 13 second-half turnovers. UNI was held to six points in the first 13 minutes of the second half, and at that point, Southern had turned a 21-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

SIU’s offense struggled in the first half and trailed 35-14 with just 90 seconds to play in the first frame, but the Salukis ended the half with a 5-0 run to get within striking distance. Southern came out in the second half with an aggressive, smothering defense that the crowd of 4,419 immediately recognized and responded to. Even though SIU initially struggled to score to start the second half, scoring just four points before the first media timeout, the crowd seemed to sense that the tide had turned, and SIU’s offense exploded into a 20-0 run that overlapped the halftime.

The defense was particularly impressive against UNI point guard AJ Green, arguably the top freshman in the MVC. The Salukis picked his pocket four times at the top of the key in the second half, including two of the first three possessions, leading to a 14-to-2 advantage in fast break points and 19-to-2 points-off-turnovers advantage in the second half.

“The first four minutes are what mattered,” Cook said. “Coach Beane told me, ‘I don’t want to put anyone else on (Green). I believe in you, and I want you to stop him.’ I took that personally, and that’s what I tried to do. It definitely got the arena going.”

“When AC got those steals, the whole arena went crazy. We just fed off that energy,” Lloyd added.

A five-guard lineup helped spark the rally. Centers Kavion Pippen and Thik Bol played a combined 10 minutes in the second half, while McGill, Cook, Beane, Lloyd and Armon Fletcher all played at least 16 minutes after halftime. The quartet of Beane, Cook, McGill and Lloyd were dominant, scoring a combined 49 points on 19-for-25 shooting (76 percent).

“We just felt like we needed to turn up the heat, defensively,” Hinson said of the five-guard lineup.

Cook led SIU with 17 points, while Lloyd and Beane each added 16. McGill had 13 points, 5 assists, 0 turnovers, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. For UNI, Green had a game-high 22 points and shot 6-for-7 from the 3-point line. Isaiah Brown had 10 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals for the Panthers. The Salukis swept the season series from UNI for a second-straight year, marking Southern’s first four-game winning streak in the series since 2000-02.

SIU travels to Chicago to face league-leading Loyola on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

“I’m going to do tonight what I told you even after the losses: I’m not going to get too high, and I’m not going to get too low,” Hinson said. “And, quite frankly, I’m a man of faith, and I’ve prayed over and over for a symbolic win that can help turn our season around. It’s an answered prayer for me tonight.”

Tyler Smithpeters traded in his maroon and white jersey for a light blue dress shirt Wednesday night at Rend Lake College.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

CARBONDALE — Armon Fletcher’s return has not boosted SIU’s men’s basketball team as much as it had hoped.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

NORMAL, Ill. – The Southern Illinois men’s basketball team rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to take the lead, but Illinois State’s Phil Fayne hit one of two free throws with 5.7 seconds remaining to give the Redbirds a 59-58 win over SIU on Tuesday night at Redbird Arena. 

The Salukis (9-9, 2-3 MVC) committed 13 first-half turnovers, and Illinois State hit eight of its last 10 shots in the first half to take a 35-27 lead into the break. The Redbirds (10-8, 3-2 MVC) took that momentum into the second half and built a 45-29 lead with 16:27 to go. 

Illinois State held a 49-34 lead with 12:55 to go when suddenly the momentum of the game completely flipped. Marcus Bartley hit a 3-pointer to ignite an 18-0 SIU run that gave the Salukis a 52-49 lead. Bartley hit another trey—his third 3-pointer in a 21-2 run—to give SIU a 55-51 lead with 4:25 to play, but SIU would not make a field goal for the remainder of the game. 

“We started defending,” SIU head coach Barry Hinson said. “All of the sudden, we had one segment where we had four stops in a row. On the offensive end, we were sharing the basketball. And quite frankly, we did not turn the ball over in the second half.”

SIU had only five turnovers in the second half and limited Illinois State to 25 percent from the field after intermission. Illinois State responded to SIU’s 21-2 run with a 7-0 run of its own to take a 58-55 lead with 1:42 remaining. Aaron Cook hit a free throw; SIU got a stop; and Eric McGill hit two clutch free throws to tie the game with 33 seconds to play. Illinois State held for the last shot and slipped a pass to Fayne, who hit the second of two free throws to give the Redbirds a 59-58 lead with 5.7 seconds remaining. 

After three timeouts, SIU got the ball in cleanly on the inbounds and passed ahead to Eric McGill going towards the basket, but McGill got caught in the air trying to pass and misfired on a pass as the clock expired.

“We will get better defensively,” Hinson said. “One of the things that will help us from tonight, when we go back and look at the film, is that when you play that hard, you put yourself in a position to win ball games.”

SIU held ISU scoreless for more than six minutes during the momentum-flipping 18-0 run in the middle of the second half. Armon Fletcher led the Salukis with 17 points and nine rebounds. Eric McGill had 10 points.

Southern Illinois has lost three-straight in the MVC after starting league play 2-0. The Salukis are off until Sunday, when Bradley comes to SIU Arena. 

“We go home now for two home games,” Hinson said. “We’re exactly where we were last year; we just have to find a way to turn it.”

INA, Ill. – High school athletes can sign up now for a spot at Rend Lake College’s Fourth Annual Softball Pre-Season Prospect Clinic at the Rec Center. The clinic will begin with registration at 7 a.m. and instruction at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, 2019.

During the four-hour clinic, athletes will be coached by RLC Softball staff and athletes in a number of topics and drills to prepare them for college-level play. This unique scouting opportunity gives local athletes the chance to been seen before the spring high school season begins.

The cost of the clinic is $35 for individuals or $30 per athlete when registering a team of more than six players. A T-shirt is included in the registration costs.

For more information about the Rec Center, contact Rec Center Director Tyler O’Daniel at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1279, or odanielt@rlc.edu. Spots are limited for the clinic, so those interested should contact O’Daniel to reserve a spot.

The RLC Rec Center provides the community, athletes, and staff with a great place to train and improve their lifestyles. Information about the Rec Center can be found online at www.rlc.edu/rec or on the Rec Center Facebook page

After a wild-card round that was truly wild, with three visiting teams advancing, the divisional round of the NFL playoffs offered no surprises.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

The scent of burgers, fries and victory wafted through the stately White House on Monday as President Donald Trump saluted college football’s Clemson Tigers for winning the national championship

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

As the first strains of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” filled the Anaheim Arena on Saturday, Katelyn Ohashi came alive.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Tom Brady recognizes that there are some who believe the Patriots are nearing the end of their run of unprecedented playoff success.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

When the New Orleans Saints finally found their rhythm, they marched one step closer to the Super Bowl.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.