While men’s basketball’s offense powered it to a 65-54 victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), its defensive play may have been the deciding factor.

The Huskies (2-5) gave the Cougars (2-4) a number of different looks throughout the game on defense. One minute they would be matched up man-to-man, then the next be in a full-court press. They also used zones frequently throughout the game as they went back and forth between their 1-3-1 zone and their 2-3 zone.

With the lead going back and forth in the early minutes of the first half, the Huskies went to their 2-3 defense. With the switch to the 2-3 zone, the Huskies took away the Cougars’ ability to drive to the basket and get the ball in the paint. The Cougars became a one-dimensional team, taking a lot of outside shots, which is what the Huskies wanted.

“I thought it slowed down their penetration,” said coach Mark Montgomery. “They were driving, getting to the basket and it [the 2-3 zone] gets them out of rhythm a little bit because then when you go zone a lot of teams have a tendency to stand. I thought our guys rallied to the ball and closed out on shooters … I thought it definitely helped change the momentum of the game.”

The Huskies’ 2-3 zone was most effective from the 7:39 mark to the 1:24 mark in the first half, as they went on a 16-4 run to take their largest lead of the night, 36-21.

The change to the 2-3 zone seemed to catch the Cougars off guard, as they turned the ball over seven times in the last 11 minutes of the first half.

In the game, the Cougars turned the ball over a total of 18 times and the Huskies did a solid job capitalizing on the Cougars’ mistakes, as the Huskies scored 22 points off turnovers.

“[The] 2-3 [zone], I was very disappointed in how our team handled it,” said SIUE coach Lennox Forrester. “We talk about attacking the gaps and our guys just continued to take quick shots and take 3s, and whenever you play a 2-3 zone, that’s what the zone is set up for you to do, is take quick 3s, and we always talk about getting the ball inside … And I just thought we did a poor job.”