ILLHoops Tournament: Semifinals

Jeff Early grabbed 14 rebounds in #9 SIU's win over #5 Bradley

The ILLHoops tourney continued at Redbird Arena, even after host Illinois State was knocked out in their first game of the tourney by a surging Southern Illinois squad. Would the Salukis run continue or would the Braves be courageous enough to stop them in their tracks? Below is a recap of each game:

#2 DePaul 67, #3 Western Illinois 47

Despite 12 rebounds and 10 assists from Terell Parks and an additional 10 from Ceola Clark, the Leathernecks struggled on offense and could not control DePaul's athletic wing players on defense. WIU shot 35.8% from the field, while DePaul shot 45.3%. Both teams took 53 shots, but the Blue Demons made five more than WIU. For DePaul, they out-rebounded Western 40-28. Brandon Young led all scorers with 13 while Cleveland Melvin added 12 points and 9 rebounds. Jamee Crockett also had 12.

#9 Southern Illinois 63, #5 Bradley 58

SIU's run continues. This time it was both Jeff Early (12 points, 14 rebounds) and Desmar Jackson (13 points, 6 rebounds) taking control for the Salukis in their win over Bradley. Bradley falls despite strong scoring efforts from Walt Lemon (15 points, 9 rebounds), Dyricus Simms-Edwards (15 points), and Jordan Prosser (10 points). However, as a team, SIU out-rebounded Bradley 37-28 and shot better from the field (46% to 41%).

So the table is set for the inaugural ILLHoops championship. #2 DePaul and #9 Southern Illinois. The game takes place at the home court of the higher seed, so McGrath-Phillips Arena will be the site where we will see who gets the bid into the 2013 Coliseum Invitational.