When perfection was on the line, Southern Illinois got the ball to the perfect person–Darren Brooks.
Brooks nailed a three-pointer to answer Creighton’s late surge and the No. 16 Salukis held on to defeat Creighton 68-60 Tuesday night to keep their Missouri Valley Conference record spotless.
“I’ve seen him in a lot of tough situations,” SIU guard Stetson Hairston said of Brooks. “I expect him to go to the basket or shoot it over somebody. I know he’s going to make a play.”
SIU (23-2, 16-0 in the MVC) needs only to beat Bradley at home Saturday and win at Northern Iowa Monday night to complete a perfect league slate.
Preseason favorite Creighton did not make it easy. The Bluejays chipped away at a 15-point halftime deficit until Mike Grimes pulled the Bluejays within 61-58 with three minutes to play. Creighton (19-6, 11-5) had a chance to draw even closer, but Brody Daren’s shot in the lane wouldn’t go down.
That’s when Brooks, who finished with 14 points, gave SIU some cushion with his three-pointer. The Salukis then hit 5 of 8 free throws to win their 15th straight game and 21st straight in league play.
“We got it down to three and then we just didn’t make plays at the end,” Creighton coach Dana Altman said.
Brooks, who shoots only 28 percent from beyond the arc, did make a play.
“At the end, he just pulls up and makes an 18-footer, one we desperately needed to make it a two-possession game,” SIU coach Matt Painter said.
LaMar Owen keyed a run from the midpoint of the first half as the Salukis opened up a double-digit lead. The last of Jamaal Tatum’s six straight points pushed the SIU edge to 14 and the Salukis took a 40-25 advantage at the half.
Painter dodged questions about a perfect league season and about whether the Salukis are the best team in Illinois.
“All I know is we’re 23-2,” Painter said. “DePaul is having a good year and Illinois is having a good year.
“We’re just fortunate enough to be able to win the close games.”
