Bills back on winning track

The comfy confines of the Chaifetz Arena proved to be the perfect tonic as the Bills defeated Southern Illinois 71-61 to end a three-game losing streak.
Our Billikids were a little bruised and batted after our three-game road trip into BCS-land, but they got their mojo back on both ends of court last night in front of a big and energetic crowd.
The Bills shot 51 percent from the field for the game, including a sizzling 57 percent in the second half. The defense returned as well, limited Southern Illinois to 34 percent shooting.
The Salukis came into the game averaging nearly 80 points a game. With the exception of excellent sophomore guard Kevin Dillard, who scored a game-high 23 points everyone else was held in check.
The difference in the game proved to be a 12-1 run to open the second half. We trailed 31-30 at halftime, but the guys came out like gangbusters in the second half.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Femi Johnson, Kwamain Mitchell, Christian Salecich and Mitchell again turned a 31-30 halftime deficit into a 42-33 lead. The teams played virtually even for the rest of the way.
It was an excellent team effort by the kids. All nine players got into the game and they all contributed something positive to the victory.
There was one defensive sequence in particular in the second half that really got me excited. Every guy did a great job of moving their feet, cutting off the dribble and getting into the passing lanes. It was a defensive clinic like you would see in a shell drill.
The Salukis tried a backdoor pass on the baseline, which Christian opened up to the ball perfectly and stole the pass. It led to a fast break with Kwamain finishing on the back end with a left handed layup. I think I screamed louder than Rammer after that one. It was textbook defense, which led to an easy score. As a said on the radio, I wanted to smoke a cigarette after that one, stealing a line from my media buddy Frank Cusumano.
Kwamain was excellent tonight. He scored 22 points, had four rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot. Those little guys always get excited when they get a block. It's like when a major league baseball pitcher hits a home run.
Kwamain did a great job scoring, penetrating and finding the open man. HIs personal match with Dillard was outstanding to watch. It was a battle of excellent sophomore guards who will probably see each other for the next two years.
Willie Reed was something else once again. Who would have thought he had an ankle injury. Willie was as bouncy and energetic as ever as he had 16 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and several altered shots.
Willie opened the game with a nice turnaround jumper in the lane over his right shoulder. He also displayed two picturesque jump hooks for scores. On one play, he outran the field and Justin Jordan found him ahead for an emphatic slam dunk.
What I liked most about Willie's performances is that he's starting to make his free throws with more regularity. He made eight of 12 from the stripe last night, following up on the 6 for 6 performance against Georgia. The consistency of Willie's performances has to be really encouraging as well
Christian and Justin also scored in double figures with 10 points each. Christian really struggled on the road, but he came back tonight with a lot of confidence. The play which got him going was an open court opportunity where he made a beautiful spin move around Dillard and scored on a fast break layup. He his a big 3-pointer in that second half run and got himself to the free-throw line on the drive.
J.J. got himself going with a couple of long, long, long 3-pointers in the second half. He provided good quickness as Southern started two small, quick guards. The only thing I need to get on J.J. is his 4 for 7 shooting from the free throw line. A small guard with his kind of shooting ability should not be hanging around the 50 percent mark from the line. J.J. needs to be around 80 to 90 percent.
Femi John, Brian Conklin and Kyle Cassity combined for only 11 points, but the impact was really made on the defensive end. Brian did an excellent job of guarding their top scorer Carlton Fay, holding him to five points on two of nine shooting.
Brian is used to guarding bigs in the low post, but Fay was a different player at 6'8" and 230, but likes to roam the perimeter. Brian constantly kept a hand up and crowded him, forcing him to put it on the floor.
Femi is settling into his role as a strong defensive player with the occasional offensive burst. He has been playing well. He made two little mistakes in the second half which got him yanked. He was beaten for an offensive rebound and a score and he turned the ball over for a fast-break layup. The mistakes weren't what got him taken out, it was the timing of the mistake.
Both of Femi's errors came when the Bills were in the middle of good runs and had control of the game. It's a momemt of knowing in your head, the time and score and how the game is going. Otherwise, more good solid work from Femi. He was really good at doubling down on the post and making it tough for the Saluki bigs. He even tied up his former high school teammate Anthony Booker on a couple of occasions.
Kyle finished with four points, but coach Majerus said in his post-game radio comments that he thought is was his best defensive effort as a Billiken.
Corey Remekun and Jon Smith played limited minutes, but had a big impact in those minutes. Corey gave us some good low-post defense and even took a charge and forced two turnovers.
Jon came in briefly in the second half and really lit it up. He had a big block on SIU's Booker and tipped in J.J.'s missed free throw. Their positive minutes were vital because they impacted the game and gave Rick a chance to rest Willie without losing any momentum.
Overall, it was a good game to watch and fun to see the kids get back on the winning track. It got a little testy at the end of the game when SIU's Justin Bocot took down Kwamain hard when he was trying to dunk it. Kwamain laid on the ground for several minutes and the crowd booed quite lustily. Me and Rammer were a little fired up as well. Kwamain appeared to be o.k., though at the end of the game.
The SLU-SIU rivalry is a fun game to play. Tonight proved to be more of the same. The game was tough and hotly-contested, but the home team usually comes out on top.
Tonight's win was also part of a good night for the Atlantic 10 Conference. Temple defeated Penn State, Rhode Island defeated Providence and Charlotte won at Louisville by 22 points, handing Rick Pitino his worst home loss in his career at U of L.
In the nonconference, the league has racked up some nice wins, including Creighton and Georgia Tech (by Dayton), Mississippi State and Missouri (by Richmond), Penn State and Siena (by Temple), at Louisville (Charlotte), Creighton again (by Xavier), Nebraska and Southern Illinois (SLU), Boston College (St. Joseph's), Providence (Rhode Island) at Iowa (Duquesne). There were also a couple of near misses when Duquesne took pit into double-overtime and Temple missed some late FT's to keep them from winning at Georgetown. That would have been huge.
Anyway, way to get back on the winning track young men. Job well done.
The Billikids have week off for finals, then Rockhurst comes to town.
See you then.
Go Bills.

Kwamain Mitchell photo courtesy of saintlouis.scout.com