Insider: Slow start sinks Purple Aces' valiant effort against Southern Illinois

CARBONDALE, Ill. — University of Evansville men’s basketball coach David Ragland credited assistant Marcus Wilson for his words postgame.

Wilson spoke to the team following its 77-70 loss to Southern Illinois, after another slow start plagued the Purple Aces. The Salukis started the game on a 16-1 run and led by as many as 20 points in the first half, and that won’t cut it against the Missouri Valley Conference’s top team.

“(Against) poor teams, you can play 20-25 (minutes) and win. Average teams, about 30 minutes and win,” he said. “Against really good teams, like Southern, you need all 40.

“For a bulk of the game,” Ragland continued, “we played hard and won it. But the start of it, we didn’t, and that was the difference in the ballgame.”

The Purple Aces (4-16, 0-9 MVC) showed tangible signs of improvement but are still searching for their first league of the Ragland era and their first since Feb. 8, 2022. Had Tuesday’s bid come off for UE, it would’ve been a massive upset.

The Salukis (15-5, 7-2) came into the evening tied with Indiana State for first place in the Valley. Prior to tipoff, SIU ranked 239 spots ahead of UE in the KenPom ratings — the Salukis at No. 107, the Aces at 346.

KenPom gave UE a 5% chance of winning. Even then, despite the loss, Tuesday was likely the Aces’ best performance in league play relative to their opponent. UE has now lost three of four games by single digits, showing some growth. But unlike the losses to Illinois State and Valparaiso, there was a better feeling about the showing and what is still to come.

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“If we don’t dig ourselves those holes in the beginning of the game, the last three games might be different,” guard Marvin Coleman II said. “That’s a credit to (Southern Illinois). They came out ready to play.”

In addition to the slow start, the Salukis’ main man ran the show.

Firmly in the MVC Player of the Year conversation, Marcus Domask showed the Aces and the league why he’s there. Any time UE had the chance to make it a game, Domask was there to stop it. Even when the Aces cut into the single digits three times in the second half, Domask calmed the Salukis.

With each of his 32 points — matching a career high — he showed a different aspect of his game. Whether it was hitting a logo 3-pointer, his ability in the midrange or when he was driving to the basket, he kept SIU comfortable and in control.

He exited the game with 1:34 remaining to a raucous standing ovation before quickly returning after the Aces cut their deficit to just nine points.

His insurance was needed.

Then another ovation came his way with 12 seconds remaining, though not quite as atmospheric.

“He’s an unbeliveable player, so that’s a credit to him. He can score at all three levels, so it’s kind of like a matchup nightmare,” Coleman said. “Preparing for him is actually a good challenge for us. Guys like that, being on top of the conference, you’re gonna get the best from them every single night.”

Domask, paired with another sluggish start, ran the Aces into another loss.

UE can, however, find positives in the response. After the first media timeout, the Aces out-scored the Salukis 69-65. After SIU hit three of its first four 3-pointers, the Salukis went 3-29 for the rest of the game.

Coleman scored a career-high 25 points to continue his improvements after a rough patch in non-conference play, which has taken a load off Kenny Strawbridge Jr.

“I’m just trying to find a balance,” Coleman said. “I feel like once I start scoring and getting buckets in transition, stuff like that, it opens up our offense. It gets guys more open because I’m actually a threat out there, so I just gotta keep doing that.”

Chris Moncrief’s impact off the bench was one of the main factors in UE breaking out of the night-starting rut. Coleman credited the freshman for his “next-man up” mentality with both Sekou Kalle and Preston Phillips missing Tuesday’s game.

In addition to his six points, Moncrief had a game-high five assists, including a quarterback-esque full-court toss to Gabe Spinelli, while contributing with several hustle plays and diving on the ball. While it wasn’t enough in the end, his spark was pivotal down the stretch after the Salukis jumped out to their early advantage.

“He played his tail off, man,” Ragland said. “He competed like crazy. … He played 25 minutes, he earned every minute of it.”

Despite Coleman’s career effort and Moncrief’s emergence, the Aces still find themselves in the conference cellar. Despite that, there were tangible signs of improvement over previous games, which is a key part of Year 1 of the Ragland era.

UE was eight points away from a signature win for the first-year coach, but another slow start and another big early deficit cost it that.

The Aces host Drake on Saturday at Ford Center, another formidable test against a conference heavyweight. UE showed it can compete, but the old theme remains. A full 40-minute effort is needed to win games, especially in league play, and the Aces simply have not gotten that to this point.

“There’s frustration and disappointment because we are close,” Ragland said. “The hard part is sticking with it, and I think we’re sticking with it and making the right strides. The easy thing to do is to give up and give in, and we’re far from that.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: UE men's basketball slow start sinks effort against Southern Illinois