ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Just a day after chiding his bench for its effort, Southern Illinois University basketball coach Chris Lowery was handing out accolades to the previously maligned group.

No, it wasn't bench players who made the key buckets and passes down the stretch in SIU's 53-51 semi-final win over Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference. However, it was Tyrone Green, Wesley Clemmons, Josh Bone and Tony Boyle that kept the Salukis afloat in the first half.

"I think the bench did a great job of just coming out with extreme energy and enthusiasm," said junior forward Matt Shaw, who scored the game-winning basket. "Obviously, we got off to a slow start and got down a little bit.

"Our bench came in and gave us some energy and put us back in the game."

With the starters in the game, SIU trailed 7-1 at the first media timeout.

Lowery substituted at the break and the move paid immediate dividends.

Boyle grabbed two quick rebounds and turned an offensive board into a pair of free throws. A couple possessions later, Green made a layup in heavy traffic, drew a foul and completed a three-point play.

Bryan Mullins hit a 3-pointer at the 12:21 mark, the first field goal by a starter, before Josh Bone drove the lane for a short runner. Bone's bucket gave the Salukis their first lead of the day.

"We started out pretty slow, but our bench picked us up," Green said. "We came out with energy and enthusiasm and picked them up."

The bench players finished with just eight points, but helped the Salukis fend off Bradley's early assault The Braves were clearly the more aggressive team in the early going.

"We've been playing with tremendous energy," said Bradley coach Jim Les.

"We know that's part of who we are. "We're not going to just show up and beat people. We have to play with intensity, energy and enthusiasm for 40 minutes.

"If we do that, we give ourselves a chance to win."

And, it was the SIU bench that brought a much-needed infusion of energy to the Salukis � a stark contrast to the Drake game.

"We put those guys in and they brought electricity to the building," Lowery said. "They were playing hard. Tyrone Green was guarding everybody. Wesley was playing hard, five rebounds off the bench for Wes. Tony Boyle did a great job when he was in there. Josh Bone was aggressive for a freshman.

That's what you've got to have."

The bench's contribution was pronounced.

Green, Boyle and Bone all scored before Randal Falker, Tatum and Tony Young put a point on the board.

"You can't have a fear factor when they check into the game," Lowery said.

"I think that's what they had Friday."

Full house: The MVC tournament will set a new attendance record this year. Saturday's semi-final session was a sellout, 22,612, the largest crowd since the tournament moved to the Scottrade Center.

After four sessions, this year's attendance is 62,462. Last year's total was the previous record, 63,739.

Tenth time the charm: Today's appearance in the MVC tournament title game will mark the 10th time SIU advanced to the finals. The Salukis won in 1977, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 2006. The Dawgs lost title games in 1989, 1990, 2002 and 2003.

This marks the first time a top seed has advanced to the championship game since 2003.

Strange start: An indication that the SIU-Bradley game would be somewhat strange � Mullins took the first shot for the Salukis in each half.

A second indication, when Falker scored on an offensive rebound with 4:57 remaining in the first half, it was the first field goal by Falker, Young or Tatum.

Lofty heights: The 27-5 Salukis are reaching lofty heights. SIU has had 27 wins in a season just twice � 2002 and 2005.

Boarded up: SIU enjoyed a 39-31 rebounding edge over Bradley. The Salukis had 17 second chance points as compared to just seven for Bradley.

It's probably not a coincidence the winning bucket was a second-chance score.

Trending up: Shaw's 11 points give him 71 in MVC tournament play, the 12th best mark in SIU history. Young had just two points, but that moved him up to 15th on the all-time list.

Falker's 12 rebounds given him 53 in tournament play, fourth best all-time.

He trails just Marcus Timmons, Ashraf Amaya and Jermaine Dearman. Shaw has

42 rebounds, good for seventh all-time.

les.winkeler@thesouthern.com

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