Salukis now in 4th Place with two games to play in regular-season
By Jim Beers
CARBONDALE – The SIU Saluki Men’s Basketball Team traveled to Evansville, Indiana Sunday February 25 to take on the Aces at the Ford Center. It was the lone game this season against Evansville and the Dawgs are playing for their lives in the hunt first a First Round bye in the upcoming Missouri Valley Basketball Tournament, better known as “Arch Madness.”
The Salukis and Aces battled hard throughout the first 20-minute half going into the locker room with SIU down by just two points, 26-24. Neither team could get into a good flow in the opening frame as both were cold shooting and both played good defense.
Evansville opened the game with a 4-0 run on baskets by Antonio Thomas and Kenny Strawbridge at the 18:38 mark. SIU’s first points came 25-seconds later when Trent Brown popped a 3-pointer at 18:13 to get the Salukis within one point, 4-3.
Neither team scored again until the 16:47 mark when SIU took its first lead, 7-6, on a huge slam dunk by Scottie Ebube. Ebube hit a free throw 13 seconds later to extend the Saluki lead to 8-6 at 16:24.
SIU’s Xavier Johnson (10) soars past Evansville’s Chuck Bailey III (4) Sunday February 25 when the Salukis traveled to Evansville, Indiana to take a, 65-53, win from the Aces. In the win, Xavier Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, and just missed achieving a triple-double having dished out eight assists, missing the triple-double by just a pair of assists. Johnson, who has struggled offensively as of late, still sits at 4th in the nation in scoring average with a 22.4% shooting average. The “X-Man”, as he is fondly referred to at Saluki Nation, has also been nominated for the the USBWA Watch List for the Oscar Robinson Trophy as well as the All-American Watch List. There are 40 honored players nationally who will be voted on for both Awards. Johnson currently leads the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring average with 22.4 % shooting, assists with 6.2 per game, free throws made with 200, minutes per game with 36:40, and ranks second in made field goals (193), and ranks 4th in steals per game with 1.5 steals per game. He also leads the MVC in 20-point games with 16 while scoring 20 points or more in 27 games. So far he is 4th in SIU Program history to score six 30-point games in a season. Photo provided by SIU Athletics
The Aces tied the game 8-8 at 15:14 on a Gage Bobe basket when he made a layup on a fast break. The see-saw scoring continued when the Salukis answered with another layup by Scottie Ebube off of the assist from Xavier Johnson. SIU led, 10-8, at the 14:51 mark. Kennard Davis, Jr. extended the Dawg’s lead to 14-8 when he made back-to-back layups at 14:03 and 12:31.
Evansville managed to tie the game, 15-15, with just 8:32 to play in the first half when Tanner Cuff hit a short jumper. The score remained tied until the 6:58 mark when Aces’ Yacine Toumi hit a fast break layup. The Aces led, 17-15.
Not to worry, the Salukis kept things interesting and tied the game, 19-19, when Scottie Ebube made a third layup in the paint at the 4:01 mark. Evansville answered with a pair of free throws at 3:21 by Tanner Cuff to retake the lead, 21-19.
Just 22 seconds later SIU’s AJ Ferguson drained a 3-pointer to retake a Carbondale lead, 22-21 at the 2:59 mark. Scottie Ebube made another monster dunk at 2:37 to extend the Saluki lead to 24-21.
Both teams went cold for nearly two minutes until Evansville’s Antonio Thomas made a layup to tie the game, 24-24 with just .51 remaining in the half. With only 4 seconds left to play, Evansville’s Antonio Thomas went to the free throw line to make back-to-back free throws to retake a 26-24 Aces’ lead.
A last-second three point attempt by SIU’s Xavier Johnson failed and the Aces took a two point, 26-24 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.
In the first half, there were three ties and six lead changes. SIU shot 37.5% (9-of-24) from field goal range and just 2-of-12 from behind the arc (16.67%). The Dawgs made 4-of-8 free throws (50%).
Evansville made 9-of-23 field goals (39.13%) and 1-of-3 three-pointers (33.33%). The Aces made 7-of-8 free throws (87.50%).
The second half began as the first half ended with five lead changes and two ties. Neither team could take control of the game.
SIU tied the game, 26-26 at 19:39 and Evansville retook the lead, 28-26 at 19:19. Seventeen seconds later SIU took back the lead, 29-28 and at 18:39 the Aces returned the favor and retook the lead, 31-29. Twelve seconds later SIU tied the game, 31-31 at the 18:39 mark. Finally, the Salukis retook the lead, 33-31 at 17:48 when Xavier Johnson sank back-to-back free throws.
Evansville tied the game, 33-33, when Yacine Toumi sank back-to-back free throws at 16:52. SIU retook the lead, 35-33 at 16:31 when Scottie Ebube slammed another dunk. The Aces responded with a layup by Yacine Toumi with 15:45 to play to tie the game.
The Salukis then took matters into their own hands and went on an 11-0 run to take a commanding, 11-point, 46-35, lead with 11:55 remaining in the contest.
The war was not over, however, as the Aces fought back to cut the Saluki’s 11-point lead to 9, 7, 5, 4, and then 2 points on two different occasions during the next seven minutes.
At the 4:27 mark the Aces were within five points, 55-50, when the Salukis responded with a 10-3 run on 3-pointers from Troy D’Amico and Trent Brown, and back-to-back free throws by Troy D’Amico and Trent Brown. At the final buzzer, SIU led, 65-53, for the win.
The salukis outscored the Evansville Aces, 41-27, in the second half to seal the deal with a win over the Aces. The Dawgs were led by three players who scored in double figures and stepped up to save the day after a less-than-impressive first half.
Troy D’Amico led the Salukis for the second game in-a-row with 17 points. Scottie Ebube had his second great game in-a-row with 12 points. Xavier Johnson, who has struggled offensively as of late, also added 12 points. He currently is 4th in the country in scoring with an average of 22.4 points per game.
Other SIU offensive contributors include Kennard Davis, Jr. (9), Trent Brown (8), and AJ Ferguson (7). In the second half, the Dawgs shot 12-of-27 (44.44%), 6-of-16 from behind the arc (37.50%), and 11-of-12 (91.67%) from the free throw line.
For the game, there were 7 lead changes and 9 ties. SIU recorded 24 points in the paint, and 8 fast break points. The Salukis had 15 points from turnovers and 21 bench points. The Dawgs recorded 6 second chance points.
Overall, SIU made 21-of-51 shots (41.2%) from the field. From behind the arc the Salukis made 8-of-28 shots (28.6%). From the free throw line, SIU made 15-of-20 free throws (75%).
SIU outrebounded Evansville, 34-32. SIU committed 11 turnovers vs 14 for the Aces. The Dawgs recorded 12 assists vs 9 for Evansville. Southern blocked 4 shots while Evansville blocked just 1 shot.
Xavier Johnson led all players in both rebounding (10) and assists (8). He recorded a double-double for the win with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and just missed a triple-double having dished out 8 assists. Finally, Johnson led in steals with 2. Scottie Ebube led all players with 2 blocks. Kennard Davis, Jr. blocked one shot as did Clarence Rupert.
Evansville was led offensively by two players who scored in double figures including Ben Humrichous (11) and Antonio Thomas (10). Other scorers were Tanner Cuff (9), Yacine Toumi (6), Chuck Bailey III (6), Gage Bobe (5), Kenny Strawbridge (3), and Cameron Haffner (3).
The Acres shot 18-of-48 (37.5%) from the field, 2-of-10 from the 3-point range (20%), and 15-of-20 from behind the arc (75%). Evansville had 12 points from turnovers, 5 second chance points, 28 points in the paint, 11 fast break points, and 18 bench points.
SIU Head Coach, Bryan Mullins said, “We’ve played a ton of close games here. Whether we win or lose, the guys are understanding that in the last four minutes how important every single possession is, especially offensively!”
“In the second half we did a much better job of valuing the ball and that is winning on the road. To be able to get some stops and execute on offense is so important.”
Mullins continued, “It’s been different guys on different nights in terms of stepping up for us. That’s what you need in the Valley just because of the grind of the season. Scottie (Ebube) came off the bench and was big for us, especially in the first half.”
Ebube was 5-for-7 shooting and scored 12 points. He made several important plays and had key blocks and deflections in the win.
The Salukis (19-10, 11-7 MVC) travel to Bradley (20-9, 12-6 MVC) Wednesday February 28 for a showdown that could seal the deal for the Dawgs with a win.
Both teams are fighting for one of the top-4 finishes in the league to earn a 1st Round bye in the upcoming MVC Tournament. Currently Bradley sits in 3rd Place and SIU sits in 4th Place. Tip-off is set for 7 PM and the game will be aired on ESPN Plus.