All JT Early, Two 3 pointers and two free throws to give siu an 8-6 lead six minutes into this game. The pace has been quick and Drake has been able to stay in the game by pressing and trapping on defense.
Falker has done a nice job on the boards and he looks like he is headed for double digit rebounds again. 12:46- Falker pulls down the board and dishes to Young for a 10 footer from the baseline.
Drake is shooting the three every chance they get. They look like they are going to live or die by the three ball. Thats a good strategy when your overmatched.
Drake leads 16-14 at the 10 Minute mark.
Ajay Calvin makes a great play down the baseline for a layup and the foul. He looks strong.
Falker answers with a put back off a Matt Shaw miss. Drake still leads 19-16
The Drake press is giving SIU some trouble now. SIU just turned the ball over but got bailed out by a Klayton Korver travel. SIU needs to get some easy transition buckets by beating the pressure.
Drake's Grant knocks down two free throws for a 6 point lead with 6 minutes to play but Matt Shaw answers with a slam dunk at the other end to cut it to 4.
Southern just cant get a groove on offense and you get the feeling Drake is just one big three point basket away from busting a double digit lead.
Tony Young hits a three from the corner to save an SIU possession that was not going anywhere. Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings. Every time Tony Young hits a three an announcer says "Mabee that'll get him going"
Tyrone Green is not a very good player. SIU had a chance to shave down a 6 point lead late in the first half and Green commits a blatant "drop the shoulder" charging foul. If thats not enough for you SIU got the ball back with about 5 seconds left and Green abruptly coughed it up for a turnover.
Drake leads 30-24 at the half. SIU had a chance to cut it down at the end, but things could be worse. Drake just rimmed out a few three balls that could have put SIU at a big disadvantage.
The second half starts out fast and furious. Matt Shaw slams home two dunks to get things started. Drakes not letting up with their press though and their zone defense.
15:35 remaing a Brian Mullins three followed by a fast break layup by Young off a Matt Shaw steal and assist cuts the lead to one.
SIU has to push the ball when the get a turnover. The Drake press has been very good off of a made basket and our half court offense is stale. Drakes strategy has worked well.
JT nails a another three point shot and exposed the soft spot of the Drake zone, guarding the three point shot.
14:30 Another steal and another fast break layup for Southern. SIU leads 41-37
Southern has gone cold from the floor missing 7 straight shots, even JT has lost his three point touch. Drake takes back the lead 43-42.
Finally, SIU has some momentum. Led by Scoring, Rebounding, and a blocked shot by Falker SIU takes a 6 point lead with 6 minutes to play.
More Randal Falker, pulling down a rebound and fouling out Klayton Korver. Korvers line- 5 fouls, Zero Points. It's incredible that Drake has played us this close without solid contributions from Korver. Credit the Drake big fellas and the guard Grant, they have played huge.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! A HUGE Three pointer by Jamall Tatum and he was fouled! The shot clock was winding down and JT had to jack up thre three. He hits the free throw for a 4 point play and pushes the SIU lead to 5.
Drake will not go away and cuts the lead to 54-53. Being on the road in the valley is just no fun.
After a Drake free throw knots the game at 54 SIU gets the ball in what looks to be the games definitive possesion.
Jamall Tatum holds the ball as the shot clock ticks down to 10, drives the lane and kicks out wide to Tony Young as the zone defense collapses. Young had a look at a three but the remaining baseline defender made a hard charge towards him and Young made the composed senior play, kicking to the wide open Shaw down low. Shaw beats the shot clock with a lay up and the foul.
After the Shaw free throw SIU leads by three and Drake had one last chance. The Bulldogs looked nervious for the first time all night and never even got off a three point shot. After a missed 10 footer the long rebound is kicked to Falker who slams it home for a 5 point victory.
The Bulldogs fought hard but SIU holds on for a 59-54 win.
3 comments:
Great account of the game. We were hanging on to every word. Sounds like the Dawgs pulled it together.
I guess drake was better than I thought, but they still suck.
SIU played a poor first half but hung around. Drake is well coached and played a tough and smart game.
Thanks for the live blog, it was fun to have the commentary going on.
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