Saluki Frater Ready for Sweet 16

Southern Illinois University's Men's Basketball Team is headed to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, defeating Virginia Tech 63-48. Frater Tony Boyle, a 6 foot 8, 235-pound Sophomore, started in place of the Saluki's third leading scorer, Matt Shaw, who injured his ankle in the first round game. SIU didn't miss a beat and Frater Tony provided the defensive stability in the forward position necessary to knock off the Hokies.

The Salukis advance to meet Kansas in a regional semifinal on Thursday night in San Jose, Calif. Rest assured that the Jayhawks do not want to face a team so dedicated to floor burns and physical play, as displayed against the Hokies.

Since joining the Saluki's in 2004, Frater Tony has begun to make a difference on the up and coming Saluki Basketball Team. The fourth big man in SIU's four-man, front-court rotation made 52.4 percent of his attempts and 56.5 percent in conference games last year. A physical defensive player, who holds his ground in the low post, he had a season-high 10 points against Evansville on Jan. 11 and played double digit minutes in 14 games. He was red-shirted in the 2004 season.

In high school, Frater Tony led his team to a 52-9 record in his junior and senior seasons, averaging 18.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg his senior year and earned all-state, all-metro, all-district and all-conference honors. The team finished 26-3 in 2004, 26-6 and advanced to the Final Four in 2003, and he was named to the Dream Team All-Tournament team of the Hillsboro Classic/Ameritime Classic while averaging 14.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg as a junior and earned all-conference honors.

Frater Tony, an avid outdoorsman who has been fishing since he was a small child, caught a 45-pound catfish in the Mississippi River in the summer of 2005 while fishing with his grandfather. He grew seven inches from the beginning to the end of his freshman year in high school and was also recruited by Wyoming, Hawaii and Bradley Universities. He is majoring in agricultural technology and was born January 7, 1986 in St. Louis, Mo.

The Offices of the Grand Chapter extends a congratulations to the fraters of Beta-Chi and the entire Saluki Basketball Team for a great showing thus far in the NCAA Tournament.

If you would like to see your chapter news here, contact Communications Coordinator Tom McAninch.