Saturday, December 7
Carbondale, IL
2 PM
Southern Illinois University
4-6,0-1MVC
73
vs
70
Southern Indiana
4-5,0-0OVC
1
2
F
Southern Ind.
34
36
70
Southern Ill.
37
36
73
Photo by: Sam Bischel
Recap | Salukis Defend Homecourt with Victory over Southern Indiana, 73-70
12/07/2024 | 5:37:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Three Salukis scored in double-figures as Southern Illinois defeated Southern Indiana, 73-70, Saturday afternoon at Banterra Center. SIU improved to 4-6 overall on the season and 3-1 at home with the victory.
The Salukis were led by Ali Dibba's team-high 19 points while Jarrett Hensley recorded his second-consecutive double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Kennard Davis Jr. added 11 points to score in double-digits for the ninth time this season.
"For us, it still wasn't pretty. I thought when plays needed to be made our guys did that," head coach Scott Nagy said after the game. "In terms of our growth and trying to figure out who is going to make the plays late in the game I was pleased to see Davion (Sykes) knock down that three, to see Kennard hit that two in a clutch situation. I thought our guys in the last four minutes executed very well so there were a lot of things for us to build on."
A key factor for the Salukis was the play of forward Antwaun Massey who had 10 points and eight rebounds – including four offensive rebounds. Massey was aggressive on the offensive end early in the second half to put USI's Stephen Olowoniyi on the bench with foul trouble after the forward scored 20 points in the first half on 9-for-10 shooting. Olowoniyi would score just four points in the second half and finish the game with 24 points to lead USI.
"We wanted to go after him (Olowoniyi) because we knew they were thin in there -- he didn't want to foul and Antwaun just went right after him," Nagy said. "They did a good job recognizing we were switching, and he did a nice job in the first half but Antwaun going after him early in the second half and getting him in foul trouble was big for us."
Southern Illinois took a 37-34 lead to the locker room at halftime in what was a back-and-forth first half of play featuring six lead changes. SIU closed out the half hitting their last four shots with Davis scoring five of his seven points in the final two minutes.
It was Hensley who led Southern Illinois at the break with a team-high 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting. The forward also had three rebounds while dishing out three assists. Dibba gave the Salukis a 23-19 lead with a steal and dunk with six minutes left in the half and SIU did not allow USI ahead for the remainder of the period.
Defense was the deciding factor for Southern Illinois in the second half as SIU ramped up the pressure and in doing so dominated the glass with a 22-13 advantage over the final 20 minutes. Five Salukis pulled down multiple rebounds in the second led by Hensley's eight rebounds.
A Stockholm, Sweden native, Dibba scored 11 of his 19 points in the second half and the senior kickstarted a 9-2 run with just under 10 minutes left to play with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws. Sophomore guard Sheridan Sharp would cap off the run with a transition layup to put the Salukis ahead 60-52 with 8:40 left to play.
USI (4-5) cut the lead to five points before Davion Sykes nailed a 3-pointer to make it an eight-point lead again. USI continued to battle, cutting the Saluki advantage to 69-67 with 40 seconds remaining but it was Davis who would come up clutch with a fading shot from 15 feet with 20 seconds left to play.
Southern Illinois would get free throws from Hensley to secure the win and move to 5-1 overall in the series with the Screaming Eagles.
SIU won the battle on the glass 35-24, including a 12-7 advantage on the offensive glass. The Salukis turned those extra possessions into eight points. Southern also was efficient with the basketball finishing the game shooting 48.2 percent from the field and assisting on 16 of their 27 made field goals. Drew Steffe and Hensley led the Salukis with four assists apiece.
Southern Indiana's Olowoniyi led the way with 24 points while Jayland Randall added 22 for USI.
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois is in action again on Saturday, December 14 with a trip to Tennessee to take on Austin Peay. Tip with the Govs is set for 4 p.m. CT.
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 Salukis were led by Ali Dibba's team-high 19 points while Jarrett Hensley recorded his second-consecutive double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Kennard Davis Jr. added 11 points to score in double-digits for the ninth time this season.
"For us, it still wasn't pretty. I thought when plays needed to be made our guys did that," head coach Scott Nagy said after the game. "In terms of our growth and trying to figure out who is going to make the plays late in the game I was pleased to see Davion (Sykes) knock down that three, to see Kennard hit that two in a clutch situation. I thought our guys in the last four minutes executed very well so there were a lot of things for us to build on."
A key factor for the Salukis was the play of forward Antwaun Massey who had 10 points and eight rebounds – including four offensive rebounds. Massey was aggressive on the offensive end early in the second half to put USI's Stephen Olowoniyi on the bench with foul trouble after the forward scored 20 points in the first half on 9-for-10 shooting. Olowoniyi would score just four points in the second half and finish the game with 24 points to lead USI.
"We wanted to go after him (Olowoniyi) because we knew they were thin in there -- he didn't want to foul and Antwaun just went right after him," Nagy said. "They did a good job recognizing we were switching, and he did a nice job in the first half but Antwaun going after him early in the second half and getting him in foul trouble was big for us."
Southern Illinois took a 37-34 lead to the locker room at halftime in what was a back-and-forth first half of play featuring six lead changes. SIU closed out the half hitting their last four shots with Davis scoring five of his seven points in the final two minutes.
It was Hensley who led Southern Illinois at the break with a team-high 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting. The forward also had three rebounds while dishing out three assists. Dibba gave the Salukis a 23-19 lead with a steal and dunk with six minutes left in the half and SIU did not allow USI ahead for the remainder of the period.
Defense was the deciding factor for Southern Illinois in the second half as SIU ramped up the pressure and in doing so dominated the glass with a 22-13 advantage over the final 20 minutes. Five Salukis pulled down multiple rebounds in the second led by Hensley's eight rebounds.
A Stockholm, Sweden native, Dibba scored 11 of his 19 points in the second half and the senior kickstarted a 9-2 run with just under 10 minutes left to play with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws. Sophomore guard Sheridan Sharp would cap off the run with a transition layup to put the Salukis ahead 60-52 with 8:40 left to play.
USI (4-5) cut the lead to five points before Davion Sykes nailed a 3-pointer to make it an eight-point lead again. USI continued to battle, cutting the Saluki advantage to 69-67 with 40 seconds remaining but it was Davis who would come up clutch with a fading shot from 15 feet with 20 seconds left to play.
Southern Illinois would get free throws from Hensley to secure the win and move to 5-1 overall in the series with the Screaming Eagles.
SIU won the battle on the glass 35-24, including a 12-7 advantage on the offensive glass. The Salukis turned those extra possessions into eight points. Southern also was efficient with the basketball finishing the game shooting 48.2 percent from the field and assisting on 16 of their 27 made field goals. Drew Steffe and Hensley led the Salukis with four assists apiece.
Southern Indiana's Olowoniyi led the way with 24 points while Jayland Randall added 22 for USI.
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois is in action again on Saturday, December 14 with a trip to Tennessee to take on Austin Peay. Tip with the Govs is set for 4 p.m. CT.
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
USI
SIU
FG%
.463
.482
3FG%
.556
.385
FT%
.882
.737
RB
24
35
TO
9
13
STL
9
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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