The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Starters get rest; big men get experience in exhibition

An air of confidence was restored Sunday.

A week after seeing Division II Missouri Southern escape from Carbondale with a 10-point loss, Saluki fans watched the highly touted SIU men's basketball team dismantle and nearly double up Lincoln 95-52.

The rout of the Blue Tigers also gave SIU's young, big men a chance to showcase their skills - and they didn't disappoint.

The three-headed monster of Matt Shaw, Randal Falker and Jamaal Foster combined for 38 points and 22 rebounds, in just the second collegiate game of each player's career.

Foster's light shone brightest Sunday, as the 6-foot-10 forward poured in a team-high 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Foster also led the Saluki glass attack, yanking down nine rebounds.

Falker, who started in the frontcourt with LaMar Owen and Josh Warren, scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds before fouling out midway through the second half.

Shaw, who spent more time on the floor than any other Saluki big man during the two-game exhibition span, added 11 points and seven rebounds.

"They came out and played tough today for us, and hopefully they can help us out through the year," said Warren, one of just two senior big men along with Owen. "I have confidence in them."

The blowout win also took Owen, along with starting guards Darren Brooks and Jamaal Tatum, off the floor for the majority of the second half. The trio played 35, 37 and 30 minutes, respectively, against Missouri Southern.

Double-figure frenzy

If SIU attains its goal of gradually improving with each game, then Augustana is in trouble.

SIU head coach Chris Lowery witnessed eight of the nine players he put into Sunday's game reach double-figure points. Foster led the Salukis with 14 points off the bench, while Falker and Tony Young each finished with 13.

Walk-on Kyle Smithpeters was the only Saluki to touch to floor without scoring in double figures. In his defense, Smithpeters took just four shots in 18 minutes.

Owen led the Saluki offense with a 13.5 points per game average over the two-game exhibition season.

Brooks, who struggled to get his jumper going in the first game, had better luck against the Blue Tiger defenders and shot 4-of-9 from the field. For the preseason though, Brooks connected on just 10-of-29 field goals.

Not so 'free' throws

Maybe they forgot it existed, but SIU shot just three free throws in its first exhibition game, a far cry from the 42 trips the Salukis made the charity stripe Sunday.

In response to Lowery's criticism, the Salukis made a more concerted effort to attack the rim against Lincoln, drawing contact and shooting 13 more free throws than the Blue Tigers.

The tenacious aggressiveness had dire consequences for walk-on guard C.J. Smith, who suffered a concussion in practice last week due to the Salukis' physicality.

"This last week was very, very physical," Lowery said. "He won't be able to practice for a few days because he got cracked pretty good."