CARBONDALE - The Southern Illinois University men's basketball team had two starters sitting on the bench, fouled out. It had plenty of turnover problems, and a defense that was struggling to slow down Creighton's big weapons.

But the Salukis also had their two go-to seniors. They had Matt Shaw willing to take � and make - shot after shot. And, as they always seem to against the Bluejays, the Salukis had the ability to make just enough plays.

Playing in front of their biggest home crowd of the year, and playing one of their most exciting games of the season, the Salukis left the SIU Arena exhausted, exasperated but exhilarated. SIU won its seventh straight game on Saturday, 72-68 over Creighton, a win that vaulted the Salukis (21-5, 12-3) into sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference.

"That's so important, to have that leadership," Lowery said, looking at seniors Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young. "These kids up here, they understand what it means to win."

It was SIU's eighth straight victory over the Bluejays (17-8, 11-4), but like most of those previous seven games, there was nothing easy about this one.

The Salukis, who led for the entire first half, fell behind by as many as six points midway through the second half. And after recovering to take a six-point lead, thanks to a 12-3 run capped by a pair of pull-up jumpers by Tatum, Creighton stormed back to tie the game with 1:13 to play.

On SIU's ensuing possession, Young got into the middle of CU's defense and made a 15-foot jumper, putting SIU ahead, 69-67. After both teams had a 1-for-2 effort from the foul line, the Bluejays had the ball with 15 seconds to go, trailing by two.

CU star Nate Funk - who had already scored 17 points - drove to the baseline, but was tied up and lost the ball. It bounced into the hands of CU guard Nick Porter, who got an open look from eight feet, but shot it too strong off the glass. The rebound came to SIU's Matt Shaw, who was fouled with 1.6 seconds left. Shaw made a pair of free throws to seal the win.

It was a fitting end to the night for Shaw, who scored a game-high 25 points to go along with three rebounds, two blocked shots, two steals and an assist. Shaw made nine of his 12 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and was 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.

"It was a great team effort," Shaw said. "I just got good looks tonight. We did a great job of penetrating and pitching."

But Shaw wasn't the only one with a hot hand. During the second half, SIU made 12-of-14 shots, a school record 85.7 percent. The Salukis' previous best shooting half was a 77.9 percent effort against Valparaiso in 1979.

"In the second half, it felt like we didn't miss a shot," Lowery said. "86 percent from the field in a half, that's just unbelievable."

Young's jumper capped an 11-point game, his second consecutive strong scoring effort. And Tatum, who played just six minutes during SIU's win Wednesday over Bradley, showed no effects of his deep thigh bruise on Saturday. He played 35 minutes, scoring 18 points, including those two key jumpers during SIU's game-changing run.

Officially, Tatum's availability was a gametime decision because of the injury. But, in his mind, there was zero chance of him watching this one from the sidelines.

"No. No. There's no way," he said. "I don't care if I had to come up with some home remedy, put a battery on my leg and tie a shoelace around it, I was going to play.

"I definitely would have felt like I'd let my teammates down if I wasn't out there today."

Tatum certainly didn't let down his teammates, nor any of the 9,628 fans in attendance.

The Salukis now have a one-game lead over Creighton, hold the tiebreaker over CU, and are in the drivers' seat for their fifth regular-season MVC title in the past six years. They got all of that by beating one of their biggest rivals in one of the most emotionally-charged games in recent SIU Arena history.

After the game, Lowery - who consistently refuses to place added importance on any single game - briefly admitted that Saturday's effort wasn't just an ordinary contest.

Well, almost.

"After it's over, it is," he said. "Once we won, it was just another game."

One that few Saluki fans are likely to forget anytime soon.

rob.crow@thesouthern.com

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