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Southern Illinois 77, Georgia 75

Posted: Sunday March 17, 2002 08:44 PM

Southern Illinois Related Info: Team Page Conference Page City Page: • Carbondale

Georgia Related Info: Team Page Conference Page City Page: • Athens Message Boards: • Georgia • SEC

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Southern Illinois appeared down and out midway through the first half. About 90 minutes later, it had capped a banner day for schools from the "Land of Lincoln" with a memorable comeback.

The 11th-seeded Salukis rallied from an early 19-point deficit to stun third-seeded Georgia, 77-75, in an East Region second-round contest at the United Center.

Jermaine Dearman scored 25 points and came up with a huge offensive rebound in the final 30 seconds, helping Southern Illinois advance to the "Sweet 16" for the first time since 1977.

The unheralded Salukis (28-7), who ousted Texas Tech in the first round, will take on No. 2 Connecticut in the regional semifinals Friday at the Carrier Dome. The 28 wins is a school record for Southern Illinois, which prevented the East from having the top four seeds reach the "Sweet 16." The Salukis shared the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title with Creighton, then lost to the Bluejays in the championship game of the MVC tournament.

Southern Illinois has won two games in the NCAA Tournament in the same year for the first time in school history. The Salukis' only previous NCAA win in 1977, when they defeated Arizona, 81-77, That year, the NCAA Tournament was comprised of only 32 teams.

"Our new goal is to beat UConn," Dearman said. "Our goals were to make the NCAA Tournament, win the conference, which we tied with Creighton, and to make it to the 'Sweet 16.' We reached our previous goals. Now, it's time to beat UConn." The loss continued a disappointing tournament for the Southeastern Conference as Kentucky is the only one of six teams left in the field. The SEC has a combined 5-5 record. Mississippi State and Alabama also lost second-round games, while Florida and Mississippi fell in the first round.

Earlier Sunday, Illinois reached the "Sweet 16" with a 72-60 victory over Creighton in a Midwest Region contest.

With the teams in different regions under the NCAA's new "pod" system, many Illinois fans stayed around to cheer for the Salukis, who pulled off their biggest comeback of the season.

"I couldn't be prouder of our kids -- to be down 19 and not hang our heads," said Salukis coach Bruce Weber, a long-time assistant under Gene Keady at Purdue.

"We stayed confident," Southern Illinois guard Kent Williams added. "The coaches believed in us and we believed in our system that we've played all year. We tightened up (our defense). They were bullying us early. Jermaine carried us. It was one of the best offensive performances I've seen him have." Trailing 73-71, Georgia got a stop it needed when Dearman missed a jumper from the top of the key, but the Bulldogs were outhustled in the scramble for the ball as Dearman chased down the rebound in the left corner with under 30 seconds remaining.

With the shot clock turned off, the Bulldogs (22-10) were forced to foul. However, Jonas Hayes was called for an intentional foul after he appeared to push Rolan Roberts from behind with 14.3 seconds left. Georgia coach Jim Harrick stomped on the court to protest the call.

"I've seen that happen at least 15 times and I've never seen an intentional foul called," Harrick said. "It bothers me that it's so inconsistent. If you're going to call it, they ought to call it all the time. That was a big call in the ballgame." Roberts made 1-of-2 free throws and Brad Korn hit two on the ensuing possession, giving Southern Illinois a 76-71 lead. Rashad Wright converted a pair of layups for Georgia in the final seconds but time ran out on the Bulldogs.

"I think we became too relaxed and should have kept the pressure," said Wright, who scored 16 points. "They made a good comeback, and you have to give them credit for it." Early on, Georgia could do nothing wrong and Southern Illinois nothing right. The Salukis scored only 11 points in their 12 minutes and found themselves behind, 30-11.

Jarvis Hayes scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half for Georgia.

"I saw in their eyes," Weber said. "They were kind of like deer in headlights. Things weren't going our way, they were kind of staring into space. I just said, 'Hey, we worked so hard, why would you quit now?'" The Salukis stormed back, ripping off a 24-8 run to close within 38-35 at the intermission. Southern Illinois carried the momentum into the second half, stretching its lead to 60-52 on freshman Darren Brooks' jumper with 11:31 remaining.

"We've proved in the last two games that we can play with the big teams," Williams said.

With Brooks scoring 16 points off the bench, Southern Illinois appeared to be the deeper team as its reserves outscored Georgia's, 24-8.

"I think we wore them down," Weber said. "Our bench came in and Darren Brooks got red hot." Southern Illinois withstood Georgia's pressure down the stretch. Williams provided a huge basket, hitting a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to give the Salukis a 73-67 lead with 2:01 to play.