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Friday, March 16, 2007
(Links added at 8:37 a.m.)
A tenacious Southern Illinois defense and some Holy Cross foul trouble left the 'Saders packing for home.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cramps played a big role in Holy Cross' 61-51 loss to Southern Illinois in the firsts round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night.
Between the painful muscle cramps that hobbled HC's best player, Keith Simmons, and the spotty officiating that cramped the style of Crusaders' big man Tim Clifford, the Patriot League champions simply did not have enough weapons at either end of the court to overcome the No. 4 seeded Salukis.
Simmons, who was visibly hobbling by the end of the game, twice went to the bench for treatment late in the second half. Each time, like the warrior he has been throughout his career, Simmons came back on the floor and gave it a go. But the combination of the cramps and stifling, pressure defense by Southern Illinois, he never looked anything like the player fans in the Patriot League have watched all season.
For the first time all season, Simmons was held under double figures, finishing with just four points to end a streak of 44 straight games with at least 10 points. A career 50 percent shooter from the field, Simmons was 0 for 5.
It was not just the cramps that gave Simmons trouble. SIU's Tony Young also gave Simmons fits. You have to figure SIU coach Chris Lowery saw the problems Bucknell's Abe Badmus caused guarding Simmons in both the regular season loss in Lewisburg and the patriot League Championship game. Lowery stole that page straight from the Pat Flannery playbook, assigning the small (6-0), but strong and lightning quick Young the task of guarding the 6-5 Simmons.
"We really wanted to pressure everybody else and make it hard for them to do their sets that they run for him. But Tony Young was very good defensively," said Lowery. "We knew he was going to give up five inches, but we knew Tony was going to fight and try to make him miserable and get under his skin, which I thought he did."
Perhaps the best sign of how well the plan on Simmons worked was the fact that four of Simmons' five tries were from outside the arc. Not once could the Crusaders find him when he tried to go down on the block to post up the smaller defender.
The cramps were a problem all last season for Simmons, but after consulting with nutritionists and doctors and modifying his diet, he had gone all season with no problems until now. Clifford's foul trouble has been a problem throughout the season. This was the disqualification of the season for the 6-10, 270-pound junior.
In Clifford's defense, most of his fouls seemed to come on inconsistent, ticky-tack calls in what was a very physical game both ways. But regardless of how it happened, the effect was more than the Crusaders could overcome on a night when Simmons, and to a lesser extent, senior point guard Torey Thomas, both struggled on offense.
Clifford's first two fouls came in a span of 37 seconds, the second sending him to the bench with 6:54 to go in the first half and HC up 16-13. Ralph Willard was forced to send his big man back on the floor with 3:37 still to go in the half, after starting power forward Alex Vander Baan picked up his third foul. By then, HC's three-point lead had turned into a five-point deficit and SIU was in the midst of a 9-0 run that buil the lead to 7 and gave the Salukis control of the game.
Six points in the SIU run came on easy layups -- the kind that were not available when Clifford was anchored in the middle of the Crusaders zone. another came on a layup by point guard Bryan Mullins, who took advantage of Clifford's foul trouble by daring him to pick up another.
"Tim got in foul trouble and we didn't do a good job after he went out of the basketball game. They hurt us inside with a couple plays. When Tim came back in the game, he was a little tentative," said Willard.
That run proved to be decisive. After six lead changes in the first half, it gave the Salukis the advantage for good. Southrn Illinois led 30-25 at the half and Holy Cross could never get closer than 4 the rest of the night. It was still a four-point game when Clifford picked up his fourth personal with 5:40 to go.
"They are different (when Clifford is on the bench) because he is huge. He is massive in there," said Lowery. "That's when we really got it going."
SIU reserve forward Tony Boyle, who was the primary beneficiary of Clifford's foul woes, hit both shots to stretch the SIU lead to 48-42, starting a quick 6-0 run that pushed the lead to 52-43 while Clifford was on the bench. It was 52-46 when Clifford returned, and 53-46 12 seconds later when Boyle hit the front end of a one-and-one after Clifford fouled out at the 3:04 mark.
"Tim takes up that space. He blocks shots without going over people's backs. He really gives us an opportunity to go out and get on fast breaks, so losing Tim was a big bloc. Plus he came in and was playing tentative because he didn't want to pick up those fouls," said Thomas.
Boyle, who played just two scoreless minutes in the first half, played 19 minutes in the second after SIU's Matt Shaw suffered an ankle injury coming down with a rebound at the buzzer ending the first half. Shaw returned to the bench, but not to the floor, finishing with 11 points. Boyle picked up where he left off, scoring all of his career-high 14 points in the second half.
"We got Tony Boyle some stuff because (Clifford) was out," said Lowery.
With Clifford gone for good, SIU pulled away from there, going on a 7-0 spurt to put the game away.
Simmons was not the only Crusader who struggled on offense. Thomas finished with a game-high 15 points, but 9 of those came at the foul line and 4 more on a pair of uncontested layups in the final minute. Prior to the last minute, thomas had one field goal. Combined, Holy Cross' senior leaders went 3 for 21 from the field.
As a team, Holy Cross finished the night 14 of 42 (33.3 percent) from the field, turning the ball over 20 times against SIU's pressure. The Crusaders were 1 for 11 from the three-point arc.
Freshman Eric Meister was the offensive bright spot for HC, scoring a career-high 14 points on a 6 for 6 night, all from close range. Meister's scoring boost kept the Crusaders close much of the night. The 6-8 forward also had 8 rebounds.
Vander Baan, who also fouled out, grabbed 10 boards to lead all rebounders.
Joining Shaw and Boyle in double figures for SIU were Randal Falker and Jamaal Tatum. Falker had 12, most with Clifford in foul trouble. Hc kept Tatum, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, under wraps all night, holding him to 10 points on 2 for 9 shooting from the field. Four of his points came on free throws in the final 1:25 of the game.
The win gives the Salukis a rematch with Virginia Tech Sunday in the second round. The Hokies advanced by beating Illinois, spoiling the possibilities of SIU facing its former coach, Bruce Weber.
Box score | Gameblog | Play by Play | Shot chart | Recap | Postgame press conference audio | Southern Illinoisan | Chicago Tribune | Telegram & Gazette (gamer) | T&G (notebook) | T&G (fan story) | Courier-News | Chicago Sun-Times | The Southern (gamer) | ESPN (Whelliston)
A tenacious Southern Illinois defense and some Holy Cross foul trouble left the 'Saders packing for home.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cramps played a big role in Holy Cross' 61-51 loss to Southern Illinois in the firsts round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night.
Between the painful muscle cramps that hobbled HC's best player, Keith Simmons, and the spotty officiating that cramped the style of Crusaders' big man Tim Clifford, the Patriot League champions simply did not have enough weapons at either end of the court to overcome the No. 4 seeded Salukis.
Simmons, who was visibly hobbling by the end of the game, twice went to the bench for treatment late in the second half. Each time, like the warrior he has been throughout his career, Simmons came back on the floor and gave it a go. But the combination of the cramps and stifling, pressure defense by Southern Illinois, he never looked anything like the player fans in the Patriot League have watched all season.
For the first time all season, Simmons was held under double figures, finishing with just four points to end a streak of 44 straight games with at least 10 points. A career 50 percent shooter from the field, Simmons was 0 for 5.
It was not just the cramps that gave Simmons trouble. SIU's Tony Young also gave Simmons fits. You have to figure SIU coach Chris Lowery saw the problems Bucknell's Abe Badmus caused guarding Simmons in both the regular season loss in Lewisburg and the patriot League Championship game. Lowery stole that page straight from the Pat Flannery playbook, assigning the small (6-0), but strong and lightning quick Young the task of guarding the 6-5 Simmons.
"We really wanted to pressure everybody else and make it hard for them to do their sets that they run for him. But Tony Young was very good defensively," said Lowery. "We knew he was going to give up five inches, but we knew Tony was going to fight and try to make him miserable and get under his skin, which I thought he did."
Perhaps the best sign of how well the plan on Simmons worked was the fact that four of Simmons' five tries were from outside the arc. Not once could the Crusaders find him when he tried to go down on the block to post up the smaller defender.
The cramps were a problem all last season for Simmons, but after consulting with nutritionists and doctors and modifying his diet, he had gone all season with no problems until now. Clifford's foul trouble has been a problem throughout the season. This was the disqualification of the season for the 6-10, 270-pound junior.
In Clifford's defense, most of his fouls seemed to come on inconsistent, ticky-tack calls in what was a very physical game both ways. But regardless of how it happened, the effect was more than the Crusaders could overcome on a night when Simmons, and to a lesser extent, senior point guard Torey Thomas, both struggled on offense.
Clifford's first two fouls came in a span of 37 seconds, the second sending him to the bench with 6:54 to go in the first half and HC up 16-13. Ralph Willard was forced to send his big man back on the floor with 3:37 still to go in the half, after starting power forward Alex Vander Baan picked up his third foul. By then, HC's three-point lead had turned into a five-point deficit and SIU was in the midst of a 9-0 run that buil the lead to 7 and gave the Salukis control of the game.
Six points in the SIU run came on easy layups -- the kind that were not available when Clifford was anchored in the middle of the Crusaders zone. another came on a layup by point guard Bryan Mullins, who took advantage of Clifford's foul trouble by daring him to pick up another.
"Tim got in foul trouble and we didn't do a good job after he went out of the basketball game. They hurt us inside with a couple plays. When Tim came back in the game, he was a little tentative," said Willard.
That run proved to be decisive. After six lead changes in the first half, it gave the Salukis the advantage for good. Southrn Illinois led 30-25 at the half and Holy Cross could never get closer than 4 the rest of the night. It was still a four-point game when Clifford picked up his fourth personal with 5:40 to go.
"They are different (when Clifford is on the bench) because he is huge. He is massive in there," said Lowery. "That's when we really got it going."
SIU reserve forward Tony Boyle, who was the primary beneficiary of Clifford's foul woes, hit both shots to stretch the SIU lead to 48-42, starting a quick 6-0 run that pushed the lead to 52-43 while Clifford was on the bench. It was 52-46 when Clifford returned, and 53-46 12 seconds later when Boyle hit the front end of a one-and-one after Clifford fouled out at the 3:04 mark.
"Tim takes up that space. He blocks shots without going over people's backs. He really gives us an opportunity to go out and get on fast breaks, so losing Tim was a big bloc. Plus he came in and was playing tentative because he didn't want to pick up those fouls," said Thomas.
Boyle, who played just two scoreless minutes in the first half, played 19 minutes in the second after SIU's Matt Shaw suffered an ankle injury coming down with a rebound at the buzzer ending the first half. Shaw returned to the bench, but not to the floor, finishing with 11 points. Boyle picked up where he left off, scoring all of his career-high 14 points in the second half.
"We got Tony Boyle some stuff because (Clifford) was out," said Lowery.
With Clifford gone for good, SIU pulled away from there, going on a 7-0 spurt to put the game away.
Simmons was not the only Crusader who struggled on offense. Thomas finished with a game-high 15 points, but 9 of those came at the foul line and 4 more on a pair of uncontested layups in the final minute. Prior to the last minute, thomas had one field goal. Combined, Holy Cross' senior leaders went 3 for 21 from the field.
As a team, Holy Cross finished the night 14 of 42 (33.3 percent) from the field, turning the ball over 20 times against SIU's pressure. The Crusaders were 1 for 11 from the three-point arc.
Freshman Eric Meister was the offensive bright spot for HC, scoring a career-high 14 points on a 6 for 6 night, all from close range. Meister's scoring boost kept the Crusaders close much of the night. The 6-8 forward also had 8 rebounds.
Vander Baan, who also fouled out, grabbed 10 boards to lead all rebounders.
Joining Shaw and Boyle in double figures for SIU were Randal Falker and Jamaal Tatum. Falker had 12, most with Clifford in foul trouble. Hc kept Tatum, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, under wraps all night, holding him to 10 points on 2 for 9 shooting from the field. Four of his points came on free throws in the final 1:25 of the game.
The win gives the Salukis a rematch with Virginia Tech Sunday in the second round. The Hokies advanced by beating Illinois, spoiling the possibilities of SIU facing its former coach, Bruce Weber.
Box score | Gameblog | Play by Play | Shot chart | Recap | Postgame press conference audio | Southern Illinoisan | Chicago Tribune | Telegram & Gazette (gamer) | T&G (notebook) | T&G (fan story) | Courier-News | Chicago Sun-Times | The Southern (gamer) | ESPN (Whelliston)
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