Salukis Open SoCal Challenge Monday Night Against UNLV

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. - Saluki Basketball opens the SoCal Challenge Monday night at midnight central and 10 p.m. pacific against UNLV at the Pavilion in San Juan Capistrano, California. Southern will take on either Cal Baptist or Minnesota on Wednesday to close out the MTE.

THE BROADCAST
• The game will be available nationally on CBS Sports Network with Alex Del Barrio (play-by-play) and Tim Doyle (analyst) calling the action.
• The radio broadcast can be heard on the Saluki Radio Network with SIU Hall of Famer Mike Reis (play-by-play) and Rodney Watson (analyst) on the call.

THE MATCHUP'S
• The meeting Monday with the Runnin' Rebels will be the sixth meeting all-time with SIU holding a 1-4 record against UNLV. The lone win came during the first meeting in 1968 at the Las Vegas Invitational where SIU won 85-82.

• The Salukis are 1-2 all-time against Minnesota, including a 1-1 record on a neutral floor. SIU's win in the series came in 2006 during the Old Spice Classic, defeating UM 69-53. The last meeting with Minnesota came during the 2016 season when Southern fell 57-45 at the Golden Gopher Invitational.

• A meeting in the second round with Cal Baptist would be the first between the two programs.

DEFENSE IS THE IDENTITY
• Southern held Oklahoma State to just 34.5 percent shooting in the second half en route to a 12-point comeback on the road to pull off the upset. SIU held the Cowboys without a field goal for over four minutes until the end of regulation, including three steals in that time. The Dawgs are holding opponents to .260 (13-for-50) shooting from behind the arc, allowing just 13 3-pointers this season.

• The Salukis held Tennessee State to just 17 second-half points -- good enough to tie for 8th fewest points allowed in the second half in program history. The complete defensive effort by the Salukis led to TSU shooting just 28.1 percent (15-53) from the floor -- which is the best mark under head coach Bryan Mullins in four seasons. SIU held the Tigers without a field goal for over 10 minutes in the second half of action.

TOP FIVE DEFENSIVE EFFORTS UNDER BRYAN MULLINS
28.3 (15-53) vs Tennessee State (2022-23)
30.1 (22-73) vs Illinois Wesleyan (2019-20)
30.4 (17-56) vs UTSA (2019-20)
31.3 (15-48) vs Loyola (2021-22)
32.2 (19-59) vs Valparaiso (2019-20)

DUO CONTINUES TO CLIMB THE CHARTS
• Marcus Domask and Lance Jones continue to climb their way up the SIU all-time scoring list. Domask dropped in 18 points against TSU to push his career total to 1,126 moving into 32nd place while Jones added nine points to move into sole possession of 35th place with 1,114 career points.

POWER 5 ROAD WIN
• Southern Illinois rallied to defeat Oklahoma State to earn the program's first true road win over a Power opponent since 2000 when SIU beat Colorado in the NIT. Southern has a Power Conference win in the last two seasons now, after defeating Colorado during the Paradise Jam in 2021-22.

LAST TIME OUT
Southern held Tennessee State to just 17 second-half points en route to a 57-44 win at Banterra Center. Marcus Domask recorded his third career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win. The Salukis didn't shoot the lights out but were able to stymie the Tiger offense, holding TSU to just 28.1 percent shooting (15-53) from the field while turning 17 Tiger turnovers into 21 points.

SEASON TICKETS
• Season tickets are on sale now, with prices beginning as low as $125. For more information, fans can call the SIU Ticket Office at 877-SALUKIS.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Basketball, on Instagram at @SIU_Basketball and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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Marcus Domask

Lance Jones

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