Southern Illinois University
7-4,0-1MVC
North Dakota State
7-6,0-0Summit League
Recap | Southern Illinois Runs Past North Dakota State, 76-63
12/19/2023 | 9:37:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois basketball snapped a two-game skid after defeating North Dakota State, 76-63, Tuesday night at Banterra Center. SIU was led by Xavier Johnson with 25 points while three other Salukis scored in double-figures in the win.
"I knew it was going to be a tough matchup for us tonight and the guys really responded," head coach Bryan Mullins said. "I thought for the most part we played 40 minutes of good basketball. Defensively it was one of our better performances to eliminate their threes. We have some things to work on but overall, a good response from a tough game in Wichita."
Tied at 21 at the midway point of the first half, Southern Illinois went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game. The Salukis would continue to trade baskets with NDSU as the half ended, going into the locker room with a 42-31 lead.
Johnson led the way for the Salukis with 13 points at the break. Forward Jarrett Hensley put in eight first-half points in his home debut while Scottie Ebube had seven points after the first 20 minutes.
SIU held North Dakota State without a 3-pointer until the 10:26 mark in the second half when Damari Wheeler-Thomas capped off a 7-0 Bison run to cut the Saluki lead to 58-49.
Graduate guard Trent Brown answered the Bison run with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Salukis a double-digit lead and the rest was history. The Scottsdale, Arizona product played all 40 minutes in the game, finishing with 11 points, three triples, and a trio of steals to lead SIU.
"They (the threes) were huge – Trent has put in a lot of work over the last couple of days, and he's really put a lot of work in this year," said Mullins. "They weren't easy threes – he was running with pace, and he was able to make some big-time shots."
The Salukis were able to play strong defense throughout, forcing 14 turnovers after struggling to do so in the last two games.
"Hopefully with Jarrett (Hensley) and when we get AJ (Ferguson) back we'll be able to continue to pick up our defensive intensity a little bit more," Mullins added. "We have to be able to defend even better than we are now going into Valley play so that's been a focus for us in practice and we'll continue to try to generate some offense from our defense."
Ebube finished two points shy of his career high in the win. The big man scored 13 points in 19 minutes of action while also leading the team with eight rebounds.
In his second game of action, Hensley gave the Salukis strong minutes off the bench finishing with a season-high 14 on 6-for-10 shooting. The forward also grabbed four rebounds.
The Salukis finished with 17 assists in the game. Trey Miller led the squad with five assists and just one turnover while Johnson had five assists to go with his game-high 25 points.
North Dakota State was held to just 1-for-10 from downtown and led by Boden Skunberg who finished with 19 points and two rebounds. Noah Fedderson added 10 points for the Bison.
UP NEXT
The Salukis play host to Southern Indiana on Friday, December 22 at 6 p.m. The game is being billed as the "Blizzard of Egypt" with a special halftime Rockettes-style dance performance by the Saluki Spirit teams and artificial snow machines that will turn the arena into a winter wonderland.
Tickets for the game Friday as well as against UIC on December 30 start as low as $5 by using code FIVE at SIUSalukis.com/Promo. You can also get your tickets by calling 877-SALUKIS, visiting SIUSalukis.com/Tickets or by visiting the SIU Ticket Office during normal business hours.
FOLLOW THE 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.
