Salukis set to face Bradley in final
William Ford
Daily Egyptian
On Matt Shaw's birthday, he was the one handing out gifts to his teammates.
Shaw, who turned 20, hit a jumper and made several crucial free throws
in overtime to lead the SIU men's basketball team past Northern Iowa
55-46 in the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference
Tournament on Saturday.
Behind Shaw's inspired play, the Salukis (21-10) secured a date with
surging Bradley in the championship game at the Savvis Center in St.
Louis. The team has not won a tournament championship since 1995.
In a game against Northern Iowa and their two beefy post players, Shaw
showed no signs of the timid play that had been the subject of much
criticism for the sophomore.
"Sometimes his confidence goes in and out," SIU head coach Chris Lowery
said of Shaw. "The most impressive thing is he allowed himself to make
plays."
Shaw's confidence became a question for SIU during a stretch late in
the regular season when the team was struggling. The Saluki big man
showed no signs of cracking, however, in what was perhaps the biggest
pressure situations of his career. Shaw finished with a game-high 15
points. He also played stellar defense on all-conference forward Grant
Stout, who was limited to seven points and five rebounds.
"Just had to be confident really," Shaw said. "I got some opportunities and was able to take advantage of them."
Not much separated the Salukis and the Panthers the two times they
played in the regular season. As was the case in the regular season,
neither team was able to assume control of the game.
"You wouldn't think that two teams could play however much we've played
and be so close," Northern Iowa head coach Greg McDermott said. "Two
overtime games and a one-point loss. It's just two very gutty teams."
The lead changed in the game seven times and was tied 10 times. Every
Northern Iowa basket seemed to be followed closely by an SIU basket.
The end of the regulation period was reminiscent of last week's
match-up in Carbondale when Panther guard Ben Jacobson missed a
potential game-winning shot and was guarded closely by junior Saluki
guard Tony Young.
On the last play of the second half, Jacobson again had the chance to
be a hero and give his team the win. Hounded by Young, Jacobson's
sailed long.
"I live for those moments," Young said of guarding on the last
possession. "I knew he was going to pull up . That's what he does. He
hits big shots."
The Salukis were able to gain momentum at the beginning of the overtime
when sophomore forward Randal Falker was fouled while throwing down a
dunk. A shaky free throw shooter, Falker nailed the foul shot and the
Salukis never relented the lead.
After the three-point play, Shaw's scoring pushed the lead to two
possessions on several occasions. Northern Iowa never could find
leverage after that.
"We really executed well in overtime. We stepped to the free throw line
and made free throws," Lowery said. "(McDermott) is a great coach and
his kids are tough. Our kids were just tougher today."
Against Bradley, the Salukis meet perhaps the hottest team in the
Valley. The Braves handled league champion Wichita State earlier in the
day to earn a spot in the final.
Wins from the Salukis and Braves gave both teams much needed material
with which to pad their NCAA tournament resumes, Lowery said his team
still isn't content.
"We helped ourselves today, but we still got work to do in our minds," Lowery said.
