Saturday, December 21
Carbondale, IL
1 PM
Southern Illinois University
5-7,0-1MVC
81
vs
94
High Point
12-2,0-0Big South
1
2
F
High Point
51
43
94
Southern Ill.
37
44
81
Photo by: Madison Giltner
Recap | Salukis Struggle Early in Loss to High Point, 94-81
12/21/2024 | 4:36:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois basketball fell to High Point, 94-81, Saturday afternoon at Banterra Center. Ali Dibba scored a career-high 27 in the loss, marking the second time this season that the senior has scored more than 20 points.
"We just continue to get off to bad starts. I don't know exactly what it is, but we struggle to know scouts, our communication level, and just simple mistakes, particularly at the start of games," head coach Scott Nagy said after the game. "When I see us make those mistakes over and over at some point as a coach you have to make some changes."
High Point (12-2) scored the first points of the game and did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the game. Leading by eight at the midway point of the first half Southern made a run to cut into the lead thanks in part to strong defensive efforts during an 8-2 run.
Kennard Davis Jr. would make his first field goal of the game after not starting due to an ankle injury with a 3-pointer with 11:47 left in the first to cut the deficit to just three points. Drew Steffe capped off the run with a bucket and free throw to make it 19-17.
Up seven with 7:54 left in the opening half, High Point would reel off a 12-1 run aided by five Saluki turnovers over three minutes.
Trailing at the break 51-37, the Salukis (5-7) came out with energy early in the second and cut the High Point lead to just seven points. During the 9-2 run the SIU was able to get four players involved while forcing three turnovers during the stretch.
High Point weathered the Saluki run and would answer back with a run of their own to push their lead back into double-digits. Titus Anderson gave the Panthers a 16-point lead with just eight minutes remaining and High Point would coast the rest of the way to pick up their 12th win of the season.
Dibba scored 15 of his 27 points in the second half and was 5-for-6 from the field in the final 20 minutes. He finished 9-for-16 from the field, 2-for-5 from behind the arc, and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. The Stockholm, Sweden native also corralled seven rebounds while picking up three steals in the loss.
Southern Illinois shot 30-for-37 from the charity stripe while High Point was 21-for-32 from the line in a game that saw a combined 43 fouls called. Davion Sykes was aggressive and scored six of his 10 points from the line while Dibba connected on 7-of-8 free throws.
Davis and Sykes were the lone Salukis to join Dibba with 10 or more points in the game. Antwaun Massey scored eight in his first game coming off the bench while Damien Mayo Jr. and Steffe put in six each.
High Point shot 58 percent (33-for-57) in the game while the Salukis were 46 percent (23-for-50) from the floor. SIU turned the ball over 14 times in the game which the Panthers turned into 18 points.
HPU also won the battle in the paint, outscoring Southern 50-32 at the rim. Southern narrowly won the battle on the glass, outrebounding HPU 31-28.
D'Maurian Williams led High Point with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go with five rebounds and three assists. Keeza Giffa scored 19 while knocking down two of HPU's seven 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
The Salukis travel to Northern Iowa following the Christmas break to resume Missouri Valley Conference action on December 29. Tipoff with UNI is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT from McLeod Center.
Holiday ticket specials New Year's Day game against Evansville can be found HERE. Tickets start at just $4 with no added fees.
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.
"We just continue to get off to bad starts. I don't know exactly what it is, but we struggle to know scouts, our communication level, and just simple mistakes, particularly at the start of games," head coach Scott Nagy said after the game. "When I see us make those mistakes over and over at some point as a coach you have to make some changes."
High Point (12-2) scored the first points of the game and did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the game. Leading by eight at the midway point of the first half Southern made a run to cut into the lead thanks in part to strong defensive efforts during an 8-2 run.
Kennard Davis Jr. would make his first field goal of the game after not starting due to an ankle injury with a 3-pointer with 11:47 left in the first to cut the deficit to just three points. Drew Steffe capped off the run with a bucket and free throw to make it 19-17.
Up seven with 7:54 left in the opening half, High Point would reel off a 12-1 run aided by five Saluki turnovers over three minutes.
Trailing at the break 51-37, the Salukis (5-7) came out with energy early in the second and cut the High Point lead to just seven points. During the 9-2 run the SIU was able to get four players involved while forcing three turnovers during the stretch.
High Point weathered the Saluki run and would answer back with a run of their own to push their lead back into double-digits. Titus Anderson gave the Panthers a 16-point lead with just eight minutes remaining and High Point would coast the rest of the way to pick up their 12th win of the season.
Dibba scored 15 of his 27 points in the second half and was 5-for-6 from the field in the final 20 minutes. He finished 9-for-16 from the field, 2-for-5 from behind the arc, and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. The Stockholm, Sweden native also corralled seven rebounds while picking up three steals in the loss.
Southern Illinois shot 30-for-37 from the charity stripe while High Point was 21-for-32 from the line in a game that saw a combined 43 fouls called. Davion Sykes was aggressive and scored six of his 10 points from the line while Dibba connected on 7-of-8 free throws.
Davis and Sykes were the lone Salukis to join Dibba with 10 or more points in the game. Antwaun Massey scored eight in his first game coming off the bench while Damien Mayo Jr. and Steffe put in six each.
High Point shot 58 percent (33-for-57) in the game while the Salukis were 46 percent (23-for-50) from the floor. SIU turned the ball over 14 times in the game which the Panthers turned into 18 points.
HPU also won the battle in the paint, outscoring Southern 50-32 at the rim. Southern narrowly won the battle on the glass, outrebounding HPU 31-28.
D'Maurian Williams led High Point with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go with five rebounds and three assists. Keeza Giffa scored 19 while knocking down two of HPU's seven 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
The Salukis travel to Northern Iowa following the Christmas break to resume Missouri Valley Conference action on December 29. Tipoff with UNI is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT from McLeod Center.
Holiday ticket specials New Year's Day game against Evansville can be found HERE. Tickets start at just $4 with no added fees.
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
HP
SIU
FG%
.579
.460
3FG%
.350
.294
FT%
.656
.811
RB
28
31
TO
8
14
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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