Seniors go out with a bang

Williams and Dearman combine for 42 points in final home game of careers

Senior guard Kent Williams had the basketball and was standing just beyond the three-point line.

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Creighton forward Kyle Korver, who has a five-inch height advantage over Williams, was right in his face trying to make the SIU guard pass the ball.

Williams decided to keep the ball, jumped and fired a little fade away right in Korver’s grill.

He swished the three-pointer to give the Salukis an 11-point lead over the No. 17 Bluejays late in Saturday night’s game at the SIU Arena.

SIU held on to win 70-62 and claim at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship and clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MVC tournament in St. Louis.

For Williams and fellow seniors Jermaine Dearman and David Carney, the victory was an ideal way to end their careers on senior night.

All three players stood with their parents at halfcourt and were honored prior to tip-off and received standing ovations from the sellout crowd of 10,014.

Dearman said it was an emotional moment and it took a lot to keep it from overtaking him.

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“I was trying to hold some feeling back, man,” Dearman said. “I didn’t want to get teary eyed. I’m a warrior, I can’t show my soft side.”

The ovation seemingly lasted the entire game as most fans never sat down and were instrumental in the Salukis winning their 27th straight home game, the third-longest streak in the nation.

SIU head coach Bruce Weber said he was proud of the way his seniors were able to go out and said it is a phenomenal feat they achieved in not losing a home game in their final two seasons in Saluki uniforms.

“You can’t do anything better than that,” Weber said. “For those guys it’s like a fairytale, and it had a great ending.”

Williams and Dearman had phenomenal final games as the combo chipped in 42 of SIU’s 70 points with Williams leading both teams with 24 points.

Both shot an identical 8-of-12 from the field and Dearman also grabbed seven rebounds, while Williams dished out four assists and got three steals.

Williams said the two seniors expected nothing different in their final home game.

“That’s what people expect out of us and that’s what we expected to do to end our careers here on a high note,” Williams said.

Carney was also able to get into the game for the final 18 seconds and even took a shot as time expired that fell short.

While it was a night for the seniors, Williams told his teammates that this game was for a championship and that is what matters most.

“If we win this game, it’s a championship,” Williams said after the game between posing for photos and receiving congratulations from fans. “Championships are for everybody. They’re going to honor us and do everything, but when the game starts, it’s about everybody.”

Now the seniors, along with the rest of the Salukis, hope to defeat Illinois State on Monday to claim the MVC regular season championship outright.

After that, their goal is to win the MVC Tournament and earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

“It was a big game for us [Saturday],” Dearman said. “It was my senior night, it was special and we’re just looking forward right now to the future.”

Reporter Jens Deju can be reached at [email protected]