CARBONDALE, Ill. - SIU men's basketball freshman  scored 21 first-half points on 8-for-8 shooting, leading the Salukis to a 63-50 win over Valparaiso on Tuesday night at Banterra Center. For the second-straight game, SIU held its opponent to its lowest point total of the season. Tonight, against a high-scoring Valpo team that came in averaging 75 points per game, the Salukis (8-8, 2-1 MVC) locked up the Crusaders (8-8, 1-2 MVC) to 32.2% shooting and only 50 points. SIU's second-half defensive performance, limiting Valpo to 9-of-33 shooting (27.3%), was its best field goal percentage defense second half of the season.
"I'm definitely proud of our guys. It was a grind-it-out game. We knew that coming into it, and we talked about toughness a lot the last couple days," SIU head coach  said. "When you play a team that plays motion, and you have to guard a lot of different actions, you just can't break. I thought our second-half defense -- on that side, away from our bench -- was really good tonight. Our guys did a great job on Freeman (Valpo star Javon Freeman-Liberty). He's a great player. Offensively, we need to do a better job valuing the ball. I need to do a better job of putting our guys in better spots. But our effort, energy, and competitiveness was great tonight."
Domask stole the show with his first-half barrage. He didn't attempt a field goal for the first eight minutes of the game, and then went 8-for-8 in the final 12 minutes of the half, including 5-for-5 from the 3-point line. He capped the half with a 3-pointer just before the first half horn to give SIU a 32-28 lead at the break.Â
SIU's other star was its team defense, which limited Valpo to a season-low 50 points. The Crusaders, which had scored 75+ points 10 times already this season, were limited to 19-for-59 (32.2%) from the field, 6-of-24 from the 3-point line (24.0%), and 1-of-12 from behind the arc in the second half (8.3%)
"We know that defense is going to be what gets wins for us, and it's going to be the staple for us," Domask said. "We're more locked in than we ever have been."Â
 was the game's unsung hero. He only scored four points, but he had nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and only one turnover. Along with that, he was one of SIU's primary defenders on Freeman-Liberty, who came into the game averaging better than 21 points per game. Freeman scored 16 points, but Suggs and company held him to 6-of-21 from the field and 1-of-9 from the 3-point line.Â
"I told him in the locker room: He was the player of the game," Mullins said of Suggs.Â
SIU held Valpo scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half and only allowed the Crusaders five points in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. The Salukis opened up a 13-point lead, but Valpo responded with a 10-0 run to get back within three. Senior  made the big plays in the second half, perhaps none bigger than his 3-pointer to extend SIU's lead back to six points. McGill had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist and 0 turnovers in the second half. He also came up with a crucial 50-50 ball late in the game.Â
"That has to be us," Mullins said. "We have to be a 50-50 ball team. We have to win those possessions. That's the only way we're going to be successful in this league."
UP NEXT:Â SIU travels to Bradley for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, January 11. SIU is searching for its first true road game of the season.Â
"We can't let up; we can't be complacent; we have to play with this type of energy on the road," Mullins said. "It doesn't matter where we play; defense travels. That has to be us. We have to have those grind-it-out wins on the road."
NOTES:Â SIU won its sixth-straight home game and is 7-1 at Banterra Center this season ... SIU improved to 7-0 this season when it has 15+ assists ... SIU leads the MVC in scoring defense (60.2) overall this season, and KenPom ranks SIU No. 1 in the MVC in defensive efficiency during MVC games ... SIU has held seven opponents under 40% shooting, and the Salukis have held 4 of their last 5 opponents under 41% shooting.
