SIU men's basketball offense clicks against Evansville.
Zack Creglow
Daily Egyptian
ST. LOUIS-- Sometimes waking up from a scoring drought is as easy as
making a wide-open three pointer.
Sounds easy enough, but for a low-scoring SIU men's basketball team that has struggled on offense that's not always the case. But once Jamaal Tatum drilled the team's first three pointer and jumpstarted the offense, the Salukis rolled past Evansville 71-55 in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Friday.
"It was going today," said Tatum, who finished with a game-high 25 points. "The timing and spacing was great."
Scoring just 11 points in the first 14 minutes of the game, the Salukis surged offensively after Tatum's three pointer. The play of Jamaal Foster was largely to thank for this, as the lanky sophomore kept numerous possessions alive with offensive rebounds in the first half.
"Jamaal Foster had the game of his life," said SIU head coach Chris Lowery.
Foster would have a hard time arguing that after scoring 10 points and pulling down nine rebounds, one shy of recording his first career double-double. Against the Purple Aces' inside duo of Matt Webster and Bradley Strickland that dominated Salukis in the Evansville win on Feb. 21, Foster's athleticism gave them troubles.
Because of the second-chance points Foster's offensive rebounds created, Tony Young credited the forward with spurring the offense.
With Foster and Randal Falker's presence down low, the Salukis out-rebounded Evansville 46-27.
"(We) talk about crashing the boards all the time. They always get on the guards about getting rebounds." Young said. "Today, we didn't really get a chance because Jamaal and Randy were snatching everything up."
Any offensive malaise of the first half did not carry over after halftime. Draining threes and penetrating strong, the Salukis opened a comfortable lead within the first minutes of the half.
The team shot 48 percent from the floor in the second half compared to the 31 percent the Salukis connected on in the first half. Further, the team's penetration created free throw opportunities in the second half, with the Salukis converting 17-of-25 from the foul line.
"We really attacked the rim," said freshman guard Bryan Mullins, who scored six points and had five assists.
There was no answer for Tatum, who played his best basketball since early in the season. On all cylinders the guard hit, knocking down threes, penetrating with ease and routinely nailing foul shots. In the second half alone, Tatum scored 16 points.
"When you let the motion offense work for you Σ it's a lot easier," Tatum said, explaining his improved offense.
The Salukis play Northern Iowa at 4 p.m. Saturday in a game that should decide the postseason fate of the Salukis (20-10). The teams split in their regular season meetings.
The winner of the semifinal round moves onto the championship game Sunday, which the Salukis haven't won since 1995.
"Hopefully we gained some ground and pick up some steam tomorrow," Lowery said.
