Wednesday, January 22
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
8-12,3-6MVC
64
vs
74
Murray State
11-9,5-4MVC
1
2
F
Murray St.
34
40
74
Southern Ill.
32
32
64
Recap | Salukis Unable to Slow Down Racers in Second Half, 74-64
01/22/2025 | 8:59:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois basketball saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday night as Murray State picked up a 74-64 win inside Banterra Center.
Three Salukis (8-12, 3-6 MVC) scored in double-digits led by Ali Dibba who put in a team-high 21 points, but it was the defense that was not able to slow down the Racers, specifically in the second half of action.
"Most people would think that the offense was the problem tonight and 3-for-20 from three is probably not going to win very many games," head coach Scott Nagy said after the game. "We were close to one point per possession, so even as bad as we were offensively, that wasn't the problem. The problem was defensively. We just weren't physical enough and they were more physical."
Murray State (11-9, 5-4) finished the game shooting 49.1 percent (26-53) from the floor but in the second half MSU shot 59.1 percent (13-22) to outscore SIU 40-32 in the half.
Southern trailed 34-32 at intermission before Kennard Davis Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer to start the second half to give the Salukis a lead. Former SIU guard AJ Ferguson would answer back with the next six points for Murray State and the Racer would not surrender the lead for the remainder of the game.
Trailing by five with 12:14 left in the second Southern would get a free throw from Sheridan Sharp before Davis converted a bucket and a foul to make it a one-point game. Murray State answered with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes and never looked back.
The Racers would end the game hitting eight of their final 10 attempts from the floor while holding the Salukis without a field goal in the final 3:15.
"I talked about it a halftime that we were flat, but good teams sometimes just fight through that," Nagy said. "It's the first time we've had even a chance to do that, where we felt good about ourselves (with a three-game winning streak) and then we're flat and then figure out how to fight through it. We're still learning a lot, but emotionally we were flat."
Davis scored 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two steals in the loss. Senior Jarrett Hensley added 11 points and five rebounds.
Southern finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (23-54) from the floor while only converting 3-of-20 3-pointer shots. The Racers were able to outrebound SIU 36-30 in the game while outscoring SIU in second-chance opportunities 13-8.
Ferguson led Murray State with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting while playing all 40 minutes. Nick Ellington also scored in double-figures for the Racers with 14 points and seven boards.
UP NEXT
Southern begins a two-game road swing north on Saturday at UIC before heading to Valparaiso.
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.
Three Salukis (8-12, 3-6 MVC) scored in double-digits led by Ali Dibba who put in a team-high 21 points, but it was the defense that was not able to slow down the Racers, specifically in the second half of action.
"Most people would think that the offense was the problem tonight and 3-for-20 from three is probably not going to win very many games," head coach Scott Nagy said after the game. "We were close to one point per possession, so even as bad as we were offensively, that wasn't the problem. The problem was defensively. We just weren't physical enough and they were more physical."
Murray State (11-9, 5-4) finished the game shooting 49.1 percent (26-53) from the floor but in the second half MSU shot 59.1 percent (13-22) to outscore SIU 40-32 in the half.
Southern trailed 34-32 at intermission before Kennard Davis Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer to start the second half to give the Salukis a lead. Former SIU guard AJ Ferguson would answer back with the next six points for Murray State and the Racer would not surrender the lead for the remainder of the game.
Trailing by five with 12:14 left in the second Southern would get a free throw from Sheridan Sharp before Davis converted a bucket and a foul to make it a one-point game. Murray State answered with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes and never looked back.
The Racers would end the game hitting eight of their final 10 attempts from the floor while holding the Salukis without a field goal in the final 3:15.
"I talked about it a halftime that we were flat, but good teams sometimes just fight through that," Nagy said. "It's the first time we've had even a chance to do that, where we felt good about ourselves (with a three-game winning streak) and then we're flat and then figure out how to fight through it. We're still learning a lot, but emotionally we were flat."
Davis scored 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two steals in the loss. Senior Jarrett Hensley added 11 points and five rebounds.
Southern finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (23-54) from the floor while only converting 3-of-20 3-pointer shots. The Racers were able to outrebound SIU 36-30 in the game while outscoring SIU in second-chance opportunities 13-8.
Ferguson led Murray State with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting while playing all 40 minutes. Nick Ellington also scored in double-figures for the Racers with 14 points and seven boards.
UP NEXT
Southern begins a two-game road swing north on Saturday at UIC before heading to Valparaiso.
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
MUR
SIU
FG%
.491
.426
3FG%
.278
.150
FT%
.739
.714
RB
36
30
TO
8
10
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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