March 4, 2006

By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com

Box Score |  Photo Gallery | Postgame Podcast

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Fighting for its NCAA Tournament life, Southern Illinois willed its way to a 55-46 overtime win over Northern Iowa Saturday in the seminfinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The Salukis (21-10) may well have punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a victory against the Panthers (23-9), who entered the contest sporting a league-best RPI of 21.

The game was a rugged, gut-wrenching affair for both sides, with each possession treated like a precious gem. Indicative of how evenly matched the two teams were, the score was tied at halftime and the end of regulation.

"That's one of the most physical games we've ever played in here," said Saluki coach Chris Lowery. "Our guys showed a lot of grit and determination."

"I think both teams were running on fumes from yesterday," UNI coach Greg McDermott observed. "Both teams gutted it out."

Northern Iowa led by as many as six points in the first half, 15-9, but SIU went on an 11-3 run to wipe out the advantage.

In the second half, both teams expended so much energy on defense that they struggled to score baskets.

UNI appeared to gain the upper hand when Ben Jacobson hit a difficult pull-up jumper over Tony Young to give the Panthers a 40-38 lead with 1:08 to go.

But Bryan Mullins hit an off-balance driving layup with 33 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game.

Mullins was sensational for SIU. Although he is not one of the Salukis' featured weapons on offense, he made 2-of-3 shots from 3-point range and scored 10 points.

"Moxie is the word I can use for him," McDermott said. "He's a point guard. If you look up the definition in the dictionary, his picture's there."

At one point in the first half, Mullins held the ball as the shot clock expired, and Lowery yelled at him for not shooting. He must have gotten the message, because he took the ball aggressively to the hoop in the second half.

"He allowed himself to make plays," Lowery said.

Jacobson had a chance to win it for UNI at the end of regulation, but his 15-footer at the buzzer hit the back of the rim.

"It felt good," Jacobson said. "It was just a little bit long."

Southern then poured all of its remaining energy and emotion into the overtime period.

"Once we went into overtime, we were all like, let's get this done right now," Mullins said. "We knew how important this game was to our season, and we didn't want it to go into another overtime."

The Salukis seized control on their first possession of OT as Randal Falker scored a 3-point play in which he dunked and was fouled by Erik Crawford.

SIU forward Matt Shaw, who finished with a game-high 15 points, then scored Southern's next six points on a jumper and four free throws. Not a bad way to celebrate his 20th birthday.

"I got some opportunities, and I was hot at the time, and I think coach saw that, so he drew up some plays for me," Shaw said.

The Saluki defense clamped down on UNI in the overtime period, holding the Panthers to 2-of-8 shooting. Meanwhile, Southern sealed the victory at the free throw line, making 11-of-14 tries.

"We were very determined," said Tatum, whose team was 0-2 in overtime games this year. "We've been in these kind of situations that year and haven't been able to pull it out."

SIU will have a chance to claim the MVC's automatic berth when it plays Bradley in the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. in front of a national television audience on CBS.

Unfortunately for the Salukis, Mullins sprained his right ankle on the game-tying basket in regulation and may be unavailable Sunday.

"I just got to ice it all night, ice it in the morning and hope it turns out all right," Mullins said. "I'm pretty sure I am going to play tomorrow, though."

Lowery said he does not want his team to feel as if they are a lock for the NCAA Tournament.

"We're going to fight tomorrow just like we feel we still have work to do."