Nevada meets the Falker, loses to SIU

Nevada meets the Falker, loses to SIU

Appeal Staff Report

A Southern Illinois team that struggled to keep its head above .500 much of the season has suddenly put it all together.

On ESPN BracketBuster Saturday, SIU recorded its most lopsided win of the season, overwhelming Nevada, 74-49. SIU has won four in a row for the first time this season and has outscored its last two opponents by a combined 45 points.

"I told them I'll take it now, as opposed to winning a bunch of games early and fading out at the end," said Salukis head coach Chris Lowery.

The Salukis (16-12) played their trademark tough-as-nails defense, and the Wolf Pack (16-10), who averaged 75 points per game heading into the contest, were held to a season-low in scoring and committed a season-high 21 turnovers.

"It's as physical a game as we've seen all year," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "We almost needed a football helmet today."

SIU consistently clogged up the passing lanes and recorded a season-high 14 steals, including four by Bryan Mullins and three by Carlton Fay. The Nevada miscues led to 22 points off of turnovers for SIU.

After falling behind 8-3 early, the Saluki offense started clicking when Tyrone Green stole the ball from Armon Johnson and notched a layup. He gave SIU its first lead two minutes later with a breakaway dunk off a steal by Joshua Bone.

As virtually every team has done this year, the Wolf Pack was determined not to allow Salukis forward Randal Falker to have a big game. The strategy held the 6-foot-7 senior to four points in the first half, but cleared the way for SIU's guards to make 7-of-12 shots from three-point range. Bone made all three of his first-half tries, as SIU took a 37-22 lead at intermission.

"They made us pay for forming our defense around Falker," Fox said.

Ultimately, Falker gained the upper hand, scoring 13 second-half points to finish with a game-high 17. He had Nevada's 7-foot center JaVale McGee in foul trouble much of the afternoon.

"The second half we guarded the three better but didn't guard on the interior," lamented Fox.

Lowery was pleased with his team's offensive execution.

"The three-ball in the first half was really good to us," he said. "In the second half, we tried to establish Randal right away. He got going and got the big guy in foul trouble."

SIU has made a remarkable 40 shots from 3-point range in the last four games.

"We've been wide open the whole year," Lowery said. "Now, it's about confidence. It's about our kids stepping up and making shots. It's nothing special, we're just making them."

A boisterous crowd of 7,321 also played a big factor in the game. Several Saluki runs in the first half raised the decibel level as high as it has been all year. The Dawgs appeared to feed off the crowd's energy.

"Our play-hard chart was through the roof," Lowery said. "We got 71 today, and that's the record. Our previous record was against Indiana in 2002 - we had 65."

McGee, Armon Johnson and Marcelus Kemp all scored 12 points for Nevada.