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Media Credit: Brandon Chapple Head coach Chris Lowery vents his frustration on the sidelines during the Salukis' 54-49 loss to Northern Iowa Friday night in St. Louis. After the game, Lowery said it was apparent that his team was not ready to play.

Media Credit: Brandon Chapple Northern Iowa forward Adam Koch grabs Bryan Mullins during the Salukis' 54-49 loss in St. Louis. The contest was very physical as Salukis Randal Faulker and Tyrone Green both fouled out.

Fans expecting to see a basketball game at the Scottrade Center Friday may have thought they walked in on a hockey game.

The home of the St. Louis Blues supplied its usual amount of physicality and fighting when the Salukis took on Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Northern Iowa was the last team standing as it defeated the Salukis 54-49.

Most of the battles were fought in the trenches where SIU's Randal Falker and Tony Boyle took on Northern Iowa's Eric Coleman and 7-foot-1, 265 pound Jordan Eglseder.

The tone was set early as the Panthers' second possession resulted in Falker and Coleman falling on each other as they fought for a jump ball. The physical style of play continued throughout the first half as the teams combined for 17 fouls.

The Salukis were especially aggressive as they put the Panthers in the bonus with 10 minutes left to play in the half. By the end of the game Falker and Tyrone Green fouled out while Boyle and Carlton Fay had four a piece.

Lowery said he knew the game would be physical but his team wasn't ready to match the Panthers' aggressiveness.

"It was very apparent early that we weren't ready to play and it's my fault," Lowery said. "The one thing you're proud of as a coach is that the team personifies you and I just wasn't able to get what I wanted to across to them."

The first half "big hits" included Egsleder wiping out a courtside table after falling out of bounds and Falker getting sandwiched between a Panther and the floor.

When fouls were not being called, it was still a battle of wills as Falker spent as much time picking himself up off the floor as he did trying to score. Both teams were constantly exchanging elbows and tangling arms and legs.

It didn't take long for the physical play to get picked up by everyone as players soon realized if they weren't aggressive they too would be trampled. Even the freshman Fay did not hesitate to challenge the bigger Coleman. Fay delivered a hard foul to Coleman that sent him into the padding of the hoop's support.

Physical play meant foul trouble and the Salukis were the ones that felt it the most. Falker picked up his third foul early in the second half that led to a tight contest the rest of the way.

Senior Matt Shaw picked up the slack during Falker's absence in the second half by scoring 16 points. Shaw finished with a team-high 22 points and nine rebounds.

Shaw said it was tough to play down low but he knew what to expect when he went down there to work.

"I am a post player as well as an outside player," Shaw said. "It was definitely a battle in there, but our toughness didn't come through for us like it should."

The foul trouble led to a sufficient amount of free throws for both teams, which ended up being the deciding factor for the Panthers.

Coleman, a traditionally poor free-throw shooter, went 14-for-19 from the charity stripe. Northern Iowa outscored the Salukis 18 to 13 from the line but SIU had a better percentage at a 72.2 percent clip.

Coleman's free throws late in the game sealed the victory for the Panthers.

The loss is the first time since 2001 that SIU has not made it to the semifinals of the MVC tournament and virtually ends all chances of continuing the streak of NCAA tournament appearances.

Coleman said he was proud of the way his team fought for the upset and was glad he could extend his career.

"It means a lot because no one besides our fans and our team thought we could win this game," Coleman said. "It didn't set in until warm-ups that I thought this could be it, this could be my career."

Northern Iowa will meet No. 2 seed Illinois State Saturday at 4 p.m. in a semifinal match-up.

Jeff Engelhardt can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 269 or jengel@siu.edu

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