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Clemmons, Bocot resurrect bench scoring

By Todd Hefferman, The Southern

Sunday, January 11, 2009 11:19 PM CST

CARBONDALE - Wesley Clemmons said he was still trying to find his role on Southern Illinois University's men's basketball team Saturday night.

The former starter averaged just over four points per game for his career prior to this season, but was still playing an average of 21.3 minutes per game. Saturday night, he was asked to guard Evansville's power forward as part of SIU's four-guard lineup, rebound and play the type of defense that earned him a starting spot in the first place.

Clemmons managed to add a few points to his contributions, scoring nine off the bench with five rebounds. The bench rebounded nicely Saturday night from Wednesday's two-point outing at Wichita State, outscoring Evansville's reserves, 22-11.

The Salukis, in turn, won their second straight game to move into a tie for sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference, 70-63. SIU moved to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in the league. Evansville, off to its best start since the 1999-2000 season, fell to 11-4 and 3-2.

"Everybody that came off the bench contributed. That's what we need," Clemmons said. "We only got four people sittin' over there, so, everybody gotta play, and everybody gotta bring it."

Clemmons had one of the plays of the night at SIU Arena to end the first half. Moving up the left baseline toward the basket on the final play of the half, the 6-foot-3 senior got just enough of Bryan Mullins' missed jumper to tip it in at the horn. Clemmons' tip gave SIU a 39-35 lead at the break. The lead went to double digits less than two minutes into the second half.

SIU coach Chris Lowery said he was happy how his bench responded after a rough first rotation.

"That's when they got their biggest lead, when our bench came in. The second rotation, they all livened up," Lowery said. "Justin (Bocot) got going, and Nick Evans did some good things on the second rotation. (Anthony) Booker, Wes. Just getting our guys to play hard and we needed to play Evansville, and see how to play hard all the time, because if you don't, they force you to play hard.

"They were a spark, and I was happy to see how hard they played."

Bocot scored a career-high seven points in 17 minutes. He also had two rebounds and a steal. Evans scored four points in nine minutes, and Booker had his first basket since the Bradley game Dec. 28.

The Salukis will likely need a similar outing from their bench Wednesday night at Creighton (13-4, 3-2). Last season, the Bluejays were one of the few teams in the nation to have their bench outscore their starters.

They returned 10 lettermen from that team, including three starters.

Tipoff at the Qwest Center is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and with 13 conference games left, SIU still feels it has as good a shot as any other team of making a run at the MVC title. The league's top two teams, Illinois State and Bradley, both fell Saturday night. Both are still yet to play at SIU Arena.

"We gotta move forward. We've got a tough stretch going to Creighton and then coming home with Bradley, but anything can happen," Lowery said. "It's a marathon. I keep telling the guys 'Just keep moving up the board one game at a time.'"

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com / 351-5087