Salukis start season 2-0 behind great defense and refusal to give up after being behind by 12 points
BY JIM BEERS
Contributing Writer
The Southern Illinois University Basketball Salukis won a great game on the road at Oklahoma State University Thursday November 10. The Cowboys have not lost a non-conference game at home in five years, but the Dawgs held on to remain undefeated at 2-0 with a 61-60 win at OSU.
With the win it became the first time since 2000 that the Dawgs have won against a Power Five team on the road. At that time, SIU defeated Colorado in the national Invitational Tournament (NIT).
It was announced prior to the game that newcomer, Scottie Ebube, a 6’10”, 265 pound center who was instrumental in the opening win against Little Rock with nine points, six rebounds, and one block, would be out for 6-8 weeks with a broken hand he received when he fell off his scooter on campus.
His absence was felt as SIU struggled a bit without his height and toughness underneath the basket. In spite of that unfortunate occurrence, SIU fought hard and stunned OSA early in the game. The Dawgs led, 13-4 early in the first half behind the hot hands of Troy D’Amico, Lance Jones and Marcus Domask who each popped three-pointers.
As time passed, however, OSU got hot and the Dawgs went cold without scoring a point in a seven minute stretch. By halftime, Southern was down, by five points, 33-28.
In spite of the deficit and difficulty to score against a very tough and bigger Cowboy defense, the Salukis never gave up and in spite of being behind by 12 points in the second half, SIU fought hard, maintained their composure, and battled like warriors down the stretch to get within 10 points, 55-45 with only 6:43 to play.
Taking advantage of a few good breaks and a determined, unwillingness to give in, SIU chipped away at the lead and ended up down by just one point, 60-59 after executing a hard-earned, 16-5 run. All 16 of those much-needed points came from the expertise of seniors Marcus Domask and Lance Jones.
OSU led at the halftime buzzer by five points, 33-28. In the second half the Salukis outscored the Cowboys by six points, 33-27, to win the game by one point, 61-60.
In the win, Two Salukis scored in double figures. Lance Jones contributed 19 points, and grabbed three rebounds. Marcus Domask added 16 points and seven boards. All together nine players scored in the victory including Jones (19), Domask (16), Troy Damico (8), Newton Jawaun (4), Dalton Banks (4), Foster Wonders (3), AJ Ferguson (3), Trent Brown (2), and Clarence Rupert (2).
The Salukis were 23-of-60 from the field (38.3%) and 9-of-31 from the 3-point arc (29%). From the free throw line SIU made 6-of-7 (85.7%). SIU was outrebounded by OSU 43-31. The Salukis had 24 points in the paint, 8 points off of turnovers, 5 second chance points, 6 fast break points, and 16 points from the bench. The score was never tied but the lead changed 4 times.
Marcus Domask hit the 3-pointer with just 22-seconds left in the game to give SIU its 61-60 lead. After calling a time out, OSU had the ball with a chance to win the game but the Saluki defense held tight and Troy D’Amico blocked the potential winning shot in the lane to give SIU the ball as time ran out. The win improved the Salukis to a 2-0 start to the 2022-23 season.
Next up for SIU is another road game, this time at Southern Indiana Sunday November 13. SIU returns home Thursday November 17 when the Dawgs host Tennessee State at 7:00 p.m. at the Banterra Center.
SIU’s Troy D’Amico (23) faces off with OSU’s Moussa Cisse (33) late in the game Thursday November 10 when the Salukis beat OSU, 61-60. With the win, SIU improved to 2-0. D’Amico got the block with just seconds left in the game to keep the Cowboys from re-taking the lead and most likely getting the win. In the win D’Amico recorded 8 points and grabbed 1 rebound. In addition, he played tough defense to stall the Cowboy’s offensive efforts the second half, especially down the stretch when OSU was threatening to steal the win with just seconds remaining in the contest. Photo courtesy of SIU Media Service