Wednesday, January 8
Nashville, TN
6:30 PM
Southern Illinois University
5-11,0-5MVC
86
at
90
Belmont
11-5,3-2MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
31
55
86
Belmont
43
47
90
Photo by: Tim McCaughan
Recap | Strong Second Half Not Enough as Salukis Fall to Belmont in Nashville, 90-86
01/08/2025 | 10:29:00 | Men's Basketball
NASHVILLE – Southern Illinois basketball outscored Belmont 55-47 in the second half but were unable to leave Nashville with a win as the Bruins walked away with a 90-86 win Wednesday night at the Curb Event Center.
Postgame Press Conference
Tied at 83, Belmont's Tyler Lundblade picked up a foul on a 3-point attempt with just 20 seconds left on the clock and hit all three to give Belmont a lead. BU would hold on to win the game and improve to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the Valley.
Senior Ali Dibba scored a career-high 33 points with nine rebounds in the loss. The Stockholm, Sweden native scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half while shooting 10-for-13 from the floor.
Trailing 43-31 at halftime, the Salukis opened the second half on a 16-4 run to tie the game at 47 before the first media timeout. SIU picked up 3-pointers from Kennard Davis Jr., Rolyns Aligbe, and Damien Mayo Jr. during the stretch. The Salukis (5-11, 0-5 MVC) took their biggest lead of the game at 55-50 with 14:23 left to play after Dibba took the ball to the basket and finished with contact.
The two squads continued to battle back and forth in the second half with five lead changes and four ties during the final 12 minutes of action. With SIU leading by two with just over eight minutes left to play Belmont would reel off its biggest run of the night with eight straight points to regain the lead 75-69 with 5:21 left to play.
Southern would not quit though, battling back to tie the game at 81 with 1:19 left to play after Dibba knocked down one of his season-high five 3-pointers. SIU and Belmont traded layups to be knotted at 83 before the crucial foul with 20 seconds left that led to three free throws and ultimately a Bruin win.
Southern forced Belmont into 13 turnovers and were able to turn those miscues into 18 points while the Bruins scored just four points off nine SIU turnovers.
Every player that saw action scored for Southern in the game led by Dibba's 33. Davis added 13 points, including 11 in the second half while Jarrett Hensley scored 11 points with four assists and a block before fouling out late in the game.
Aligbe scored nine points and had four rebounds and Damien Mayo Jr. added eight points while knocking down a pair of triples.
As a team, SIU dished out 22 assists in the game with seven players picking up dimes. Sheridan Sharp, Drew Steffe, and Davis had five each to lead Southern.
Southern finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor (33-66) while shooting 42 percent (13-31) from behind the arc.
Belmont held an advantage at the free throw line where they shot 17-20 while Southern was limited to just 11 shots from the stripe, knocking down seven attempts. SIU was called for 17 fouls in the game while BU was called for just 10.
The Bruins were led by Jonathon Pierre's 21 points. Brigham Rogers was a rebound short of a double-double with 17 points and nine boards.
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to Banterra Center on Saturday when SIU hosts Missouri State at 6 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.
Postgame Press Conference
Tied at 83, Belmont's Tyler Lundblade picked up a foul on a 3-point attempt with just 20 seconds left on the clock and hit all three to give Belmont a lead. BU would hold on to win the game and improve to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the Valley.
Senior Ali Dibba scored a career-high 33 points with nine rebounds in the loss. The Stockholm, Sweden native scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half while shooting 10-for-13 from the floor.
Trailing 43-31 at halftime, the Salukis opened the second half on a 16-4 run to tie the game at 47 before the first media timeout. SIU picked up 3-pointers from Kennard Davis Jr., Rolyns Aligbe, and Damien Mayo Jr. during the stretch. The Salukis (5-11, 0-5 MVC) took their biggest lead of the game at 55-50 with 14:23 left to play after Dibba took the ball to the basket and finished with contact.
The two squads continued to battle back and forth in the second half with five lead changes and four ties during the final 12 minutes of action. With SIU leading by two with just over eight minutes left to play Belmont would reel off its biggest run of the night with eight straight points to regain the lead 75-69 with 5:21 left to play.
Southern would not quit though, battling back to tie the game at 81 with 1:19 left to play after Dibba knocked down one of his season-high five 3-pointers. SIU and Belmont traded layups to be knotted at 83 before the crucial foul with 20 seconds left that led to three free throws and ultimately a Bruin win.
Southern forced Belmont into 13 turnovers and were able to turn those miscues into 18 points while the Bruins scored just four points off nine SIU turnovers.
Every player that saw action scored for Southern in the game led by Dibba's 33. Davis added 13 points, including 11 in the second half while Jarrett Hensley scored 11 points with four assists and a block before fouling out late in the game.
Aligbe scored nine points and had four rebounds and Damien Mayo Jr. added eight points while knocking down a pair of triples.
As a team, SIU dished out 22 assists in the game with seven players picking up dimes. Sheridan Sharp, Drew Steffe, and Davis had five each to lead Southern.
Southern finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor (33-66) while shooting 42 percent (13-31) from behind the arc.
Belmont held an advantage at the free throw line where they shot 17-20 while Southern was limited to just 11 shots from the stripe, knocking down seven attempts. SIU was called for 17 fouls in the game while BU was called for just 10.
The Bruins were led by Jonathon Pierre's 21 points. Brigham Rogers was a rebound short of a double-double with 17 points and nine boards.
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to Banterra Center on Saturday when SIU hosts Missouri State at 6 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
SIU
BEL
FG%
.500
.533
3FG%
.419
.391
FT%
.636
.850
RB
28
37
TO
9
13
STL
9
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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