Tony Boyle and Carlton Fay put the Salukis up 5-0 early in this game, but cold shooting and defensive breakdowns allowed Illinois State to take control from there.
The Redbirds responded to the early Saluki run by running the screen and roll over and over again, and it was extremely successful. ISU shot 70% in the first half, which gives a good indication of what kind of looks they were getting.
Kevin Dillard got off to a slow start, but tried to help SIU make a run by hitting a three, making a nice dish to Boyle for a layup, then knocking down a long '2' in transition. The lead was cut to six at that moment, but then after playing airtight defense for 35 seconds, a bank shot 3 ball from ISU pushed the lead back to nine as the shot clock buzzer sounded.
The rebounding in the first half was atrocious for SIU. The 18-8 rebounding deficit was a big reason the Salukis trailed by 11 points going into the break.
In the second half Illinois State came out hot and stretched their lead to 18 right out of the gate.
Staging a comeback on the road is no easy task, but the Salukis certainly gave it their best effort. After a long stretch of solid defense, the Salukis began to creep back into the game. Bryan Mullins knocked down back-to-back '3's to make it a 59-50 game. Ryan Hare followed with a jumper that cut the lead to 7 points.
Justin Bocot also got into the action by hitting two foul shots, that cut the lead all the way down to 5 with 5:37 remaining. Bocot went off for 12 points in the second half, en route to a career high 14 point performance.
Unfortunately for the Salukis, that's where the comeback stalled.
There were too many traveling violations that killed the momentum at key times for the Dawgs to climb all the way back into the game. In the final minutes, the Salukis had multiple chances to get the game within two possessions but again went cold, this time sealing their fate in a 70-63 road loss.
