Saturday, December 14
Clarksville, TN
4 PM
Southern Illinois University
5-6,0-1MVC
65
at
60
Austin Peay
4-6,0-0ASUN
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
36
29
65
Austin Peay
25
35
60
Recap | Salukis Get Past Austin Peay on the Road, 65-60
12/14/2024 | 8:45:00 | Men's Basketball
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Southern Illinois basketball earned its first road victory of the season Saturday afternoon with a 65-60 win over Austin Peay at F&M Bank Arena. Three Salukis scored in double-figures led by Ali Dibba who scored 18, including his 1,000th career point late in the game.
"It's our first road win so we want to be positive about it, but there's still a lot to work on dealing with pressure and free throws," head coach Scott Nagy said. "We should have won by a lot more – it shouldn't have been close if we make our free throws but that's been a struggle for us."
Southern Illinois (5-6) did not score a field goal in the final 2:43 of the game as Austin Peay (4-6) cut the SIU lead from eight points to three with 1:20 left after Isaac Hansel drilled a 3-pointer. It was SIU effort plays that would eventually secure the win late.
Senior forward Jarrett Hensley recorded two of his most important rebounds of the game with 43 seconds left to play after being fouled on a putback attempt. Hensley would knock down both free throws to make it a five-point SIU advantage.
With eight seconds left, the Salukis would corral the final rebound of the game on a missed triple and Dibba would ice the game at the charity stripe, scoring his 1,000th career point on his first free throw.
"Figuring out how to win a game is important, being in close games will help us down the road to know how to handle those situations and our last two games have been that case, and we won both of them so we're moving in the right direction," Nagy said. "Our players are feeling better about themselves; our defense is what is holding us together right now, and our offense will get better I am hopeful but if it doesn't our defense can hold us up."
Southern battled early turnover issues at the start of the game before eventually taking the lead. On top 13-9, Southern would go on a 13-5 run to take a 28-17 lead. Southern would score six-straight late in the half to take its largest lead of the game at 14 before the Governors hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to go into the locker room trailing 36-25.
SIU shot 50 percent (14-28) from the field in the first half and knocked down four triples.
Southern battled early foul trouble in the second half as the Salukis were whistled for six fouls before the first media timeout, allowing the Govs to score their first eight points from the charity stripe.
Austin Peay's Sai Witt was a main contributor to the Govs free throw advantage as he drew nine fouls and shot 9-for-14 from the line. Witt had six points in the first half but was dominant in the second with 19 to lead Austin Peay with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Takeo Carpenter added 12 more points for the Govs.
Davion Sykes was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the game and scored six of his nine points in the second half while also pulling down a pair of rebounds and a block.
Hensley scored 13 for the Dawgs, marking the fourth-straight game he has scored 1 or more points this season. Kennard Davis Jr. added 12 points and eight rebounds.
In his first career start, guard Sheridan Sharp had five points, three assists, and two rebounds. Drew Steffe and Davis also dished out three assists.
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to Banterra Center next Saturday, December 21, for the final nonconference game of the season against High Point – the preseason favorite in the Big South Conference and a 27-win team from a year ago. Tipoff is for the Rockin' Christman Beach Party-themed game is set for 1 p.m. CT.
Holiday ticket specials for the High Point game as well as the New Year's Day game against Evansville can be found HERE. Tickets start at just $3 for both games.
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.
"It's our first road win so we want to be positive about it, but there's still a lot to work on dealing with pressure and free throws," head coach Scott Nagy said. "We should have won by a lot more – it shouldn't have been close if we make our free throws but that's been a struggle for us."
Southern Illinois (5-6) did not score a field goal in the final 2:43 of the game as Austin Peay (4-6) cut the SIU lead from eight points to three with 1:20 left after Isaac Hansel drilled a 3-pointer. It was SIU effort plays that would eventually secure the win late.
Senior forward Jarrett Hensley recorded two of his most important rebounds of the game with 43 seconds left to play after being fouled on a putback attempt. Hensley would knock down both free throws to make it a five-point SIU advantage.
With eight seconds left, the Salukis would corral the final rebound of the game on a missed triple and Dibba would ice the game at the charity stripe, scoring his 1,000th career point on his first free throw.
"Figuring out how to win a game is important, being in close games will help us down the road to know how to handle those situations and our last two games have been that case, and we won both of them so we're moving in the right direction," Nagy said. "Our players are feeling better about themselves; our defense is what is holding us together right now, and our offense will get better I am hopeful but if it doesn't our defense can hold us up."
Southern battled early turnover issues at the start of the game before eventually taking the lead. On top 13-9, Southern would go on a 13-5 run to take a 28-17 lead. Southern would score six-straight late in the half to take its largest lead of the game at 14 before the Governors hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to go into the locker room trailing 36-25.
SIU shot 50 percent (14-28) from the field in the first half and knocked down four triples.
Southern battled early foul trouble in the second half as the Salukis were whistled for six fouls before the first media timeout, allowing the Govs to score their first eight points from the charity stripe.
Austin Peay's Sai Witt was a main contributor to the Govs free throw advantage as he drew nine fouls and shot 9-for-14 from the line. Witt had six points in the first half but was dominant in the second with 19 to lead Austin Peay with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Takeo Carpenter added 12 more points for the Govs.
Davion Sykes was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the game and scored six of his nine points in the second half while also pulling down a pair of rebounds and a block.
Hensley scored 13 for the Dawgs, marking the fourth-straight game he has scored 1 or more points this season. Kennard Davis Jr. added 12 points and eight rebounds.
In his first career start, guard Sheridan Sharp had five points, three assists, and two rebounds. Drew Steffe and Davis also dished out three assists.
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to Banterra Center next Saturday, December 21, for the final nonconference game of the season against High Point – the preseason favorite in the Big South Conference and a 27-win team from a year ago. Tipoff is for the Rockin' Christman Beach Party-themed game is set for 1 p.m. CT.
Holiday ticket specials for the High Point game as well as the New Year's Day game against Evansville can be found HERE. Tickets start at just $3 for both games.
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
SIU
APSU
FG%
.429
.396
3FG%
.375
.286
FT%
.647
.667
RB
34
35
TO
12
17
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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