Friday, November 8
Carbondale, IL
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
1-1,0-0MVC
86
vs
64
Missouri S&T
0-0,0-0GLVC
1
2
F
Missouri S&T
33
31
64
Southern Ill.
38
48
86
Recap | Salukis Defeat Missouri S&T Behind Career Day from Davis, 86-64
11/08/2024 | 10:39:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Kennard Davis Jr. nearly put up the program's third triple-double with a 22 point, eight assist and seven steal performance as Southern Illinois secured its first win of the season with an 86-64 victory over Missouri S&T Friday night at Banterra Center.
The single-game performance from Davis marked career highs in each category as the sophomore paced the Salukis in the scoring column with his first 20-point game of his career. SIU also picked up double-digit scoring from Elijah Elliott (14) and Ali Dibba (12) for the second consecutive outing.
The Salukis (1-1) took a 38-33 lead into the locker room after battling the Miners with six lead changes and five ties in the first 20 minutes of action. Southern used an 8-0 run at the midway point to take a 25-18 lead.
Davis paced SIU in the opening half with 10 points to go with a team-high three steals. Davis and the Salukis shot 48.3 percent (14-29) in the first and were 5-for-11 from behind the arc but struggled at the charity stripe where they were 5-for-11.
"The first half was certainly not to our standards, and we let them know that," head coach Scott Nagy said postgame. "I thought the second half was better. Defensively it didn't feel great – I think they shot 31-32 percent, and we held them under one point per possession – and we weren't even any good offensively."
"When you win a college basketball game by 22 points, and you go into the locker room, and it doesn't really feel very good – part of it is because they know I have high expectations and partly because they know they weren't ready – but hopefully it will be a good learning lesson."
Southern came out in the second half and was able to outscore the Miners 48-31 en route to the victory. The Salukis locked on the defensive side of the ball forcing S&T into 15 turnovers in the final 20 minutes and limiting the visitors to just 21 field goal attempts.
The extra possessions for the Salukis led to 19 points off turnovers in the second half as Southern was able to get out and run the break to the tune of 15 points in transition after scoring just five on the fast break in the first half.
Southern used its size advantage throughout the game, outscoring Missouri S&T 50-18 near the basket. The Salukis finished the game with 24 assists on 33 field goals.
SIU finished the game shooting 53 percent (33-63) from the field while connecting on seven shots from behind the arc. Dibba and Davis each led the Salukis with a pair of 3-pointers in the win. Elliott scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. Forwards Jarrett Hensley (9) and Antwaun Massey (6) had solid games down low while Davion Sykes added six points and six rebounds in the win.
Freshman forward Rolyns Aligbe put in seven points and had five rebounds in his Banterra Center debut while guard Drew Steffe added four points to go with four rebounds and two assists.
Missouri S&T's Ryan Sroka led the Miners with 13 points while Aidan Burns added 11 on 3-for-5 shooting from deep.
UP NEXT
The Salukis travel to Oklahoma State next Thursday, November 14 for the final game of a two-for-one series with the Cowboys. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT from Gallagher-Iba Arena.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by visiting SIUSalukis.com as well as following the team on X at @SIU_Basketball, Instagram at @SIU_Basketball, and Facebook at Facebook.com/SIUBasketball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" mobile app from the App Store or Google Play Store.
The single-game performance from Davis marked career highs in each category as the sophomore paced the Salukis in the scoring column with his first 20-point game of his career. SIU also picked up double-digit scoring from Elijah Elliott (14) and Ali Dibba (12) for the second consecutive outing.
The Salukis (1-1) took a 38-33 lead into the locker room after battling the Miners with six lead changes and five ties in the first 20 minutes of action. Southern used an 8-0 run at the midway point to take a 25-18 lead.
Davis paced SIU in the opening half with 10 points to go with a team-high three steals. Davis and the Salukis shot 48.3 percent (14-29) in the first and were 5-for-11 from behind the arc but struggled at the charity stripe where they were 5-for-11.
"The first half was certainly not to our standards, and we let them know that," head coach Scott Nagy said postgame. "I thought the second half was better. Defensively it didn't feel great – I think they shot 31-32 percent, and we held them under one point per possession – and we weren't even any good offensively."
"When you win a college basketball game by 22 points, and you go into the locker room, and it doesn't really feel very good – part of it is because they know I have high expectations and partly because they know they weren't ready – but hopefully it will be a good learning lesson."
Southern came out in the second half and was able to outscore the Miners 48-31 en route to the victory. The Salukis locked on the defensive side of the ball forcing S&T into 15 turnovers in the final 20 minutes and limiting the visitors to just 21 field goal attempts.
The extra possessions for the Salukis led to 19 points off turnovers in the second half as Southern was able to get out and run the break to the tune of 15 points in transition after scoring just five on the fast break in the first half.
Southern used its size advantage throughout the game, outscoring Missouri S&T 50-18 near the basket. The Salukis finished the game with 24 assists on 33 field goals.
SIU finished the game shooting 53 percent (33-63) from the field while connecting on seven shots from behind the arc. Dibba and Davis each led the Salukis with a pair of 3-pointers in the win. Elliott scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. Forwards Jarrett Hensley (9) and Antwaun Massey (6) had solid games down low while Davion Sykes added six points and six rebounds in the win.
Freshman forward Rolyns Aligbe put in seven points and had five rebounds in his Banterra Center debut while guard Drew Steffe added four points to go with four rebounds and two assists.
Missouri S&T's Ryan Sroka led the Miners with 13 points while Aidan Burns added 11 on 3-for-5 shooting from deep.
UP NEXT
The Salukis travel to Oklahoma State next Thursday, November 14 for the final game of a two-for-one series with the Cowboys. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT from Gallagher-Iba Arena.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by visiting SIUSalukis.com as well as following the team on X at @SIU_Basketball, Instagram at @SIU_Basketball, and Facebook at Facebook.com/SIUBasketball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" mobile app from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Team Stats
MS&T
SIU
FG%
.323
.524
3FG%
.333
.389
FT%
.750
.542
RB
37
40
TO
19
12
STL
8
14
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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