Preview | Salukis Host High Point for Rockin’ Christmas Beach Party Saturday

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois basketball plays host to High Point on Saturday afternoon at Banterra Center at 1 p.m. The game is part of SIU's Rockin' Christmas Beach Party with tickets starting at just $3 with no added fees.

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PROMOTIONS

Tickets start at $3 with no fees. Click HERE for more details or to purchase
Purchase a $20 chair-back and get a Saluki bucket hat
Halftime performance by Elvis (Dave Stovall, Elvis tribute artist)
Pregame appearance by Santa Claus in the pavilion from 12-12:45 p.m. with giveaways for the kids
Free Hawaiian lei for the first 2,000 fans
Specialty holiday drink options

HOW TO FOLLOW

The ESPN Plus broadcast team is Mike Trude and Saluki Hall of Famer Jamaal Tatum.
The radio broadcast can be heard locally on 101.5 CIL-FM, on the Saluki Radio Network, SIUSalukis.com/Listen, the Saluki Mobile App, and the Varsity Network App with Luke Martin and Rodney Watson calling the action.
Fans can follow Live Stats at SIUSalukis.com.

QUICK HITS

Kennard Davis Jr. and Ali Dibba earned Third Team Preseason All-MVC honors.
SIU was picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll.
Ali Dibba has scored 10 or more points in all but one game this season. The senior guard put in a career high 26 points against Eastern Kentucky with 24 of the 26 points coming in the second half.
Kennard Davis Jr. is second on the team with 14.5 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Davis leads the MVC and ranks 37th nationally in steals with 25. The second-year guard surpassed his steals total from last season (22) with 24 in 10 games.
Ali Dibba surpassed 1,000 career points with 18 points against Austin Peay.
Jarrett Hensley has recorded back-to-back doubles doubles for the Salukis against Bradley and Southern Indiana -- the first double-doubles of his career. Hensley had 12 points and 12 rebounds against Bradley while going for 16 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Indiana. On the year he is averaging 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Salukis.
The Salukis rank second in the MVC in rebounding with 38.2 per game. Last season SIU ranked 12 in the MVC with 33 rebounds per game.
SIU is averaging 11.5 fast break points per game this season to rank fourth in the MVC.

LOOKING AT HIGH POINT

The Panthers are the preseason favorite in the Big South Conference. HPU returns four starters and eight letterwinners from a squad that won a school Division I record 27 overall games last season, was the Runner-Up of the College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament and won the Big South Regular-Season title with a 13-3 record.
High Point enters the game at 11-2 on the season and winners of their last three games. HPU is 8-0 at home, 3-1 on neutral floors, and 0-1 in their only true road game.
D'Maurian Williams leads the Panther offense scoring 14.6 points per game in 13 games. He is also shooting a staggering 52.8 percent (19-36) from behind the arc. Kezza Giffa is scoring 13.9 points and Kimani Hamilton is putting up 12.9 points to round out the double-digit scorers for High Point.
HPU averages 76.6 points per game while holding its opponents to 62.6 points.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE PANTHERS
Saturday will be the first meeting between the two programs.

LAST TIME OUT
Southern Illinois basketball earned its first road victory of the season Saturday afternoon with a 65-60 win over Austin Peay. Three Salukis scored in double-figures led by Ali Dibba who scored 18, including his 1,000th career point late in the game. SIU did not score a field goal in the final 2:43 of the game as Austin Peay 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. 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.

NAGY TOP-20 IN CAREER WINS
Nagy brings 30 years of head coaching experience to Carbondale and has recorded 14 straight winning seasons while at the helm of both South Dakota State and Wright State. Nagy ranks No. 17 in wins (582) among active Division I head coaches.

EXPERIENCE ON THE BENCH FOR THE SIU
One thing that Southern Illinois does not lack on the bench is experience within the coaching staff. SIU boasts over 100 years of total coaching experience between six coaches, as well as over 50 years of head coaching experience between Scott Nagy (30) and Steve Hawkins (28). Nagy (582) and Hawkins (453) have won a combined 1,035 games while at the helm of their programs respectively.

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.

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