Saluki Men’s Basketball tops Jackson State, 69-51

CARBONDALE, IL. — Armon Fletcher and Kavion Pippen both posted career-highs with 24 points apiece and Southern Illinois held Jackson State to 25 percent shooting in a 69-51 win at SIU Arena on Wednesday night.

The Salukis (5-4) snapped a two-game losing streak and shook off a disappointing loss to regional rival SEMO on Saturday.

“If we didn’t win tonight, I couldn’t go home,” joked SIU head coach Barry Hinson. “My wife just said, ‘if you don’t win, don’t come home tonight.’ You’ve been a jerk. I’m tired of watching you mope around. You’re not very nice. I don’t think I’m going to get Christmas gift. I thought I was going to have to sleep on the couch.”

After SEMO made a dozen threes against the Salukis, Hinson made a lineup change, going with a four-guard attack to surround Pippen, the team’s 6-foot-10 center. The move paid dividends on both ends of the floor, where Jackson State was held to 6-for-22 shooting from the perimeter, and Fletcher had his most active scoring night in and around the paint. The 6-foot-5 wing took a career-high 14 shots, grabbed seven rebounds and was 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

“I think he causes more difficulty to the other team’s four-man than he does to the other team’s perimeter player guarding him,” Hinson said. “They have to come out and guard him, they have to guard him inside. You really have to pay attention to him.”

Pippen was just too big and strong for Jackson State’s smallish front court. He made 10-of-14 shots, including a pair of rim-rattling dunks. He was also the beneficiary of some quality passes from Marcus Bartley, who led the team with seven assists.

The Tigers (3-8) were without leading scorer Chace Franklin, who missed the game with an ankle sprain. They struggled to make shots but kept the score close because they were active on the glass, grabbing 19 offensive boards.

There were eight ties and eight lead changes in the contest before Southern finally pulled away midway through the second half. Trailing, 36-35, SIU went ahead for good on a conventional three-point play by Sean Lloyd with 13:44 remaining. That was the beginning of 13-3 run. Later in the second half, Jackson State went nearly five minutes without a field goal, allowing the Salukis to push the lead to as many as 18 points.

“With no confidence, (against) a team that plays control basketball, a team that does as many change of defenses as they did tonight, I was extremely concerned coming into this game,” Hinson said. “I thought they were a good ball club. There’s only been one team to blow them out, and that’s Louisiana Tech.”

Southern won despite an off-night shooting from 3-point (3-of-13) and a season-high 19 turnovers.

“I’m kind of encouraged,” Hinson said. “We get an 18-point win and we don’t play well on the perimeter. That’s about the best we’ve guarded in a long time.”

The Salukis are still without center Thik Bol, who is recovering from knee surgery, and backup center Rudy Stradnieks missed tonight’s game with a minor injury to his shooting hand.

“We’re only nine games into the season and I’ve never dealt with this much adversity in an entire season,” Hinson said. “When we had to tell them Rudy wasn’t playing, it was kind of a slam.”

SIU continues its four-game homestand with Lamar on Sunday and North Carolina A&T on Tuesday.

“I know what everyone is saying, I get it,” Hinson said. “These are the hardest games for me as a coach. These are the hard ones — the ones everybody says you have to win.”

Box Score 

http://siusalukis.com/boxscore.aspx?id=7938&path=mbball