If anything good came out of the SIUC men’s basketball team’s loss to the University of Evansville Saturday, it was the effort put forth by freshman forward James Watts.

In a contest overshadowed by a dismal offensive performance, Watts’ effort was one of the few bright spots for the struggling Salukis.

Despite the 68-80 loss to Evansville, the freshman managed to pull down 10 rebounds and contributed a career high12 points in 28 minutes of action.

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Saluki coach Rich Herrin said Watts is perhaps the classiest player he has ever coached, and considering how many players Herrin has coached, that’s quite a compliment.

Herrin said he was pleased with how hard Watts played against Evansville on Saturday.

Watts played so hard the first half I didn’t think I’d get him out quick enough because we couldn’t get a break in the action, Herrin said. He’s playing so hard, and that’s what he’s got to do. He’s making progress, and you have to be pleased with that.

Having lost three Missouri Valley Conference games in a row, SIUC is now 2-5 in the valley and an even 9-9 overall.

Though his performance may have been pleasing, Watts said he was not happy with the teams continuing slide to the bottom of the conference.

Despite its downward spiral, Watts said it is extremely important for the entire team to continue to work hard and remain optimistic toward the remainder of the season.

It’s really frustrating because we’re a young team and we’re losing, Watts said. We’re just keeping our heads up. The main thing is to keep our heads up, come out and play the next day, work hard in practice and prepare for the next game.

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The Salukis did work hard on the boards Saturday by out rebounding the Aces 44 – 27. Watts said rebounding is a key in terms of getting SIUC back on a winning track.

The more offensive rebounds we get, the higher our score will be, Watts said. One favor of our game that’s missing is rebounds. The big men have to step it up.

Watts said he is pleased with his expanding role on the Saluki squad in recent games. However, he said his joy of playing more is somewhat tainted because of the Salukis’ recent performances.

He said the entire team needs to step up and play hard in order to pull the Salukis out of their slump.

Everybody has to step up, Watts said. Just because one player steps up that don’t mean we’re gonna come out of the hole. We have to be together as a team. I feel really great but I can’t feel happy because we’re not winning right now.