Murray State
Southern Illinois
Brown, Victor Lead Racers To 8-0 After A 68-64 Win Over SIU
12/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Trailing by 15 points early in the second half, Murray State's perfect record looked in serious trouble against fellow unbeaten Southern Illinois. That was before the Racers answered the bell with a dominating run to close the game for an impressive 68-64 win over the Salukis in front of 6,422 fans at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky.
After trailing 44-29 with less than 16 minutes left in the game and 50-38 with 12 minutes left, the Racers' full-court pressure defense started to turn the tide, while MSU forwards Kelvin Brown and Cuthbert Victor closed the deal with their dominating play around the basket.
Brown, a junior from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., led three Racers scoring in double-figures with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, while Victor, a senior from St. Croix, Virgin Islands who entered the game ranked in the Top-5 nationally in rebounding and field goal percentage, earned his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 15 rebounds. Senior forward Antione Whelchel added 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting and six rebounds for MSU.
After pair SIU free throws pushed the Racer deficit to 12 with 12:15 to go in the game, a Brown layup with 11:45 left started a 16-2 MSU run over the next 3:53 to give the Racers a 54-52 lead at the 7:51 mark.
In the run, the Racers (8-0) forced three Saluki turnovers and held SIU to just 1-of-5 shooting from the field.
SIU (6-1) answered the MSU run as leading scorer Darren Brooks knocked home back-to-back three-pointers to push the Salukis back in front at 58-54 with 6:25 to go.
Once again, the Racers, ranked No. 3 in the latest ESPN Mid-Major Top 10, were up to the challenge going on an 11-0 run over the next 5 minutes to regain the lead for good at 65-58, much to the delight of the loud and boisterous Racer crowd.
During the decisive 11-0 run, SIU was 0-for-7 from the field, while the Racers were 2-of-2 and converted on 7-of-8 free throws.
One of the keys to the MSU comeback was rebounding. After being outrebounded 18-12 in the first half, the Racers stepped up their work on the glass with a huge 26-12 advantage over the final 20 minutes to finish with a 38-32 edge for the game.
In a game that was played much closer to the pace and style of SIU's liking than Murray's, MSU managed to finish 46.2-percent from the field on 24-of-52 shooting, while holding the Salukis to just 38.7-percent on 24-of-62 shooting. The Racers held Brooks, SIU's leading scorer entering the game at 18.8 points per game, to just 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting. The junior guard was firing at a 50-percent pace going into the game.
Another key for MSU in the second half was its defensive pressure as the Racers scored 12 points off Saluki turnovers over the final 20 minutes.
The win is MSU's 12th-straight at the RSEC, while the 8-0 start is the Racers' best since a 9-0 opening run by the 1998-99 squad which eventually advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Up next, MSU, which entered the week in the Top 45 in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, takes to the road to play its second-straight undefeated team, the 18th-ranked and 9-0 Pittsburgh Panthers of the Big East, on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Pittsburgh Holiday Classic.
NOTE: At halftime of tonight's game, former MSU player and coach Johnny Reagan's jersey No. 20 was retired placing him along side former Racer standouts Jeff Martin, Garrett Beshear, Howie Crittenden, Bennie Purcell, Joe Fulks, Paul King and Popeye Jones as players to have their jerseys retired at MSU.
POST-GAME COMMENTS
MSU head coach Mick Cronin:
"This is a big time win for our program. We beat a high quality team tonight, and I'm proud of our guys because they never stopped believing. I can't say enough about Southern Illinois and they way they came at us tonight. Coach (Matt) Painter and his whole coaching staff did a great job of scouting us and preparing for us. They're a very good basketball team, and we're pleased to beat a team like that."
"We had way too many turnovers in the first half and that was the difference in the first 20 minutes. You play how you practice and we were sloppy this week in practice. SIU really exposed that and you have to give them credit because they really played tough defensively. In the second half, we had some guys that just refused to lose at home and we turned up our intensity."
"I couldn't be happier with the win. I do wish it had been a little easier, but that just wasn't going to happen against a team like SIU. Our crowd was definitely a factor down the stretch. They really got involved during our run in the second half and our guys fed off of that. Our crowd was tremendous and I can't thank them enough for their help tonight."
"You're never out of a game when you play the way that we play. Our kids know it and believe in it. Our full-court press was the difference in the game tonight. We forced some turnovers that led to some easy baskets and I knew that we were going to have to do that to have a chance at winning."
"I think playing against a team with as much defensive intensity as SIU tonight will really prepare us for a team like Pittsburgh. They will play a similar type of defense with great ball-pressure, and hopefully, tonight will help us handle that on Saturday."
MSU senior forward Cuthbert Victor:
"At halftime, Coach Cronin just told us to pick it up defensively and do a better job of rebounding. We weren't getting enough ball-pressure in the first half, and Coach told us that if we'd do a better job of rebounding and put more pressure on them defensively, we'd win and that's what happened."
"In the first half, we were a little bit sloppy with the ball, but we were able to get things going in the second half the way we knew we were capable of and we got a big victory."
"SIU's a good team. They set some great screens all night long and they really play tough. We had to really buckle down in the second half to get this win. The momentum really changed in the second half and the boost from our crowd really helped. This was a great win."
MSU junior forward Kelvin Brown:
"They (SIU) were really in us, pushing us around in the first half. They came at us with a lot of pressure and we didn't handle it very well. In the second half, we came out ready to play. We were not going to let SIU beat us in our house. At halftime, Coach was really calm and just reminded us of what we needed to be doing to win the game. We were able to do that in the second half."
