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'Birds
bested by Southern's second-half effort
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[JAN. 30, 2006]
NORMAL --
Evenly matched in the first half, the Illinois State men's
basketball team was bested by a 37-point second-half Southern
Illinois scoring surge, as the Salukis downed the Redbirds 65-52
Saturday afternoon at Redbird Arena in front of a crowd of 7,501.
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Picking up the win,
Southern Illinois secured its fourth straight sweep of the 'Birds
and improved to 16-5, 9-2 in the Missouri Valley. The Redbirds fall
to 8-11, 3-7 in Valley action. Jamaal Tatum got the Salukis on the
board early, scoring SIU's first five points. But Nedu Onyeuku would
give the 'Birds their first lead of the night, 6-5, driving the lane
for a quick layup at the 16:29 mark. Southern regained the lead on
the ensuing play off a Matt Shaw jumper and would lead by as much as
seven in the half, at 17-10, after Tatum drained another jumper with
10:05 left in the first period.
The Redbirds pulled within one, 17-16, after Neil Plank tossed in
five points on back-to-back Illinois State possessions. The teams
traded baskets for the final five minutes, but a rebound put-back by
Saluki forward Randal Falker with just four seconds left ensured a
28-23 Saluki edge at the half.
Quickly extending its lead to 12, Southern Illinois opened the
half with a Tony Young 3-pointer, Falker added a jumper, and Shaw
drained a trey of his own to make the score 37-25 with 18 minuets
left to play. Redbird freshman Michael Vandello silenced the Saluki
run with a 3-pointer, bringing the 'Birds within nine, 37-28.
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 Back-to-back 3-point buckets by ISU's Brandon Holtz and Levi Dyer
helped to quiet a 6-0 Southern Illinois run, but the 'Birds
continued to trail by nine with 12:45 left in the contest. A 7-0
Saluki run spanning 4 1/2 minutes was highlighted by a jumper and a
3 by Young and secured the Southern win.
Falker led Southern Illinois with a double-double, pouring in 18
points and adding 15 rebounds. Young tossed in 17 points, including
five 3-pointers. Illinois State was paced by Brandon Holtz with 12
points, nine off 3-point baskets.
The Redbirds head to Peoria on Wednesday for game with the rival
Bradley Braves. The 7:35 p.m. matchup will be televised locally on
WEEK.
[Illinois
State University news release provided by Todd Kober, assistant
athletics director, media relations]
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