Dawgs rebound from back-to-back losses at Illinois State and at Bradley to defeat MSU, 73-53
BY JIM BEERS
Contributing Writer
After being dealt back-to-back losses at Illinois State, 72-66, Sunday January 29 and again Thursday February 1 at Bradley, 62-52, the Southern Illinois University Salukis rebounded with a decisive win over Missouri State University Sunday February 5 at the Banterra Center on the Campus of SIU-Carbondale.
The Dawgs had not had back-to-back losses since they were defeated December 3 at Saint Louis, 85-72, and again at home December 7 by Indiana State, 74-71.
Since that time, the Salukis have had winning streaks of seven-in-a-row, before losing at Northern Iowa, 69-57, January 7, and then won five-in-a-row, prior to losing at Illinois State and Bradley.
In the win over the Missouri State Bears, SIU picked up a season sweep of MSU, having won at MSU, 61-57, January 21.
The Salukis have also swept Murray State, winning 63-57, at Murray State, January 29 and again at home January 24, 64-60.
Finally, the Dawgs have also swept Evansville this season, beating them, 80-53, in the first MVC game of the year, November 30 at Evansville, and again January 17 at home, 77-70.
SIU only played Belmont once this season and beat them, 63-45, January 1 at the Banterra Center at SIU to kick-off 2023 in a “Happy New Year’s Bash” at Banterra Center.
In the win over Missouri State, more than 5,800 fans cheered the Salukis to a 73-53 victory over the Bears. Among those 5,800 fans were a group of grade school basketball players from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Chester. Also included in that group were several boys and their parents from St. John Lutheran School in Chester.
SIU Head Coach, Bryan Mullins, said after the game, “It was a great environment today! I thought the fans were great! I am very proud of our guys. It is always tough to beat a team twice, especially after coming back from a couple of tough losses.”
With the win, SIU is now 18-7 overall and 10-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIU saw this game as a “must win” game!
Coming into the contest, there were four teams sitting at the top of the league with MVC records of 9-4. They were all in a 4-way tie for 1st Place. Right below them were another four teams with records of 8-4, making the top-8 teams in the league, out of 12, within one game of each other.
Lance Jones (18), Troy D’Amico (12), and Marcus Domask (12) each scored in double figures for the Salukis.
D’Amico was SIU’s spark, however, as he started a huge 16-5 run for the Dawgs. Prior to D’Amico’s spark, the game had been back-and-forth much of the first half. D’Amico’s efforts allowed the Salukis retake a 36-32 lead at the halftime break and never really look back.
Lance Jones has been a lightning rod for SIU the past week with 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, two steals, and two assists per game. His leadership helped SIU finish 1-1 for the week. His 18 points against Missouri State, paired with four huge steals, helped set the Salukis on fire. After having a very slow start in the first half against the Bears, jones scored 16-of-his-18 points in the second half.
Another unsung hero for the Salukis as of late has been Xavier Johnson who averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals, against Bradley and Missouri State. He had 13 points, five rebounds and two steals in the loss at Bradley.
SIU only turned the ball over nine times in the win over MSU compared to Missouri State’s 16 turnovers, most of which were created by a tough smothering Saluki defense. Another key actor in the win was the fact that SIU outrebounded the Bears, 29-26. Twelve of those were on the offensive end of the court which also helped spark the Salukis.
Marcus Domask upheld his usual leadership role for the team in the win over the Bears with 12 points. He also maintained his “floor general” status by dishing out seven assists. Finally, he grabbed four steals. With his 12 points, Domask recorded his 22nd double-digit scoring effort of the season out of 25 games.
The Salukis have six games left in the 2022-23 regular season, three at home and three on the Missouri Valley road.
Home games include Wednesday February 8 vs University of Illinois, Chicago; Sunday February 19 vs Bradley; and Wednesday February 22 vs Northern Iowa.
Away games include Saturday February 1 at Drake; Tuesday February 14 at Drake; and Sunday February 26 at University of Illinois in Chicago to close the regular season.
The 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, better known nation-wide as “Arch Madness” takes place Thursday through Sunday March 2-5 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
In the photos:
SIU’s Lance Jones (5) sinks a free throw late in the game to help extend the lead over the Missouri State Bears Sunday February 5. The Dawgs beat the Bears, 73-53, to improve to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in the MVC. In the win, Jones scored 18 points, and recorded four huge steals. Jim Beers Photo
Troy D’Amico (23) goes to the basket hard Sunday February 5 when SIU hosted the Missouri State Bears in a MVC contest. D’Amico was a spark plug for the Salukis in the 73-53 win over Missouri State as he started a huge 16-5 run which got SIU in the lead, 36-32, at halftime and allowed the Dawgs to never look back. In the win, D’Amico scored 12 points and tore up the Bear’s defense to fire-up the Dawgs. Jim Beers Photo
SIU center JD Mulia (11) boxes out Missouri State’s Jonathan Mogbo (2) Sunday February 5 at the Banterra Center on the campus of SIU-Carbondale. With Mulia’s defensive efforts, rebounding, and down-low scoring, Mulia helped the Salukis to a 73-53 win over the Bears. Jim Beers Photo
SIU’s top scorer, Marcus Domask (1) makes a free throw in the MVC game against Missouri State Sunday February 5. Domask scored 12 points, dished out seven assists, and had four steals in the 73-53 win. In addition, he was the floor general for the Dawgs both on defense and offense. The SIU vs MSU game marked the 22nd game out of 25 that Domask had scored in double-digits this season. Jim Beers Photo
The SIU Student Section, better known as the “Dawg Pound”, celebrates after a great play by the SIU Salukis Sunday February 5 at the Banterra Center, formerly known as the SIU Arena on the Campus of SIU. Coach Bryan Mullins praised the “Dawg Pound” for creating a tremendous atmosphere for the game Sunday and throughout the entire 2022-23 season. Mullins has supported the new tradition that the students have started this year as they come to the floor immediately following each game to pose for pictures with the team. Jim Beers Photo