Saluki Men’s Basketball rallies to top Duquesne, 74-64

Sean Lloyd led the Salukis with 19 points and was named to the All-Tournament team

By Tom Weber 

LAS VEGAS, NV – Southern Illinois rallied from a seven-point second-half deficit, finishing the game with a 9-0 run in the final 90 seconds, to beat Duquesne, 74-64, on Saturday at Orleans Arena.

The game featured big runs by both teams, but the Salukis (8-5) were the last men standing. SIU led, 37-30, early in the second half before Duquesne went on a 20-6 run to take a 50-43 advantage with 10:53 remaining.

Southern battled back to tie, 53-53, on a layup by Rudy Stradnieks with 5:43 to go. Sean Lloyd then took the team on his back and scored the next six points for SIU with a pair of driving layups and two free throws to give his team a 61-57 cushion. The closest Duquesne came thereafter was 63-62 on a Tarin Smith 3-pointer. The Salukis made 9-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes and 23-of-27 in the game to secure the victory.

Lloyd, who was named to the Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament team, led SIU with 19 points and seven rebounds and made clutch baskets when his team needed him most. He also held Duquesne’s leading scorer, Mike Lewis II, to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

“I challenged Sean because yesterday we got in the mode where we went in the pity-party again,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. “I challenged Sean and met with him one-on-one, and I just said, if you’re going to be the leader of this ball club, be the leader of this ball club. Everybody wants you to be that guy. We rode the horse.”

Both teams were playing their second game in as many days and fatigue set in on both sides during the second half. Perimeter shots were especially hard to come by as the teams combined to make just 6-of-27 from long range. That meant points in the paint were at a premium and SIU had the advantage, 42-26, thanks to Lloyd, plus Kavion Pippen‘s 10 points and Stradnieks’ eight points off the bench.

SIU had 11 assists — six by Aaron Cook — and committed a season-low four turnovers. Meanwhile, the defense held the Dukes (9-4) to 36.5 percent shooting from the field and forced 13 turnovers.

“Not only did we execute on the offensive end, we executed on the defensive end,” Hinson said.

There were plenty of game balls to go around. Tyler Smithpeters started in place of the injured Marcus Bartley and played 37 minutes, scored nine points and had a key blocked shot of Jordan Robinson late in the game to preserve a two-point lead.

“We got the news about Marcus today and we’re just all looking at each other like — what more can we go through?” Hinson said. “The resilience of this ballclub amazes me every time.”

Besides his six assists, Cook added 12 points and ran the team effectively from the point. Armon Fletcher chipped in 12 points and made all five of his free throws.

“The last thing I told them before we came out on the floor today was what my dad used to tell me all the time, when things aren’t going right son, sometimes you have to buck up and bow your neck,” Hinson said. “I told them today was one of those days.”

The Salukis begin conference play on Dec. 28 at Northern Iowa.