Saturday, November 29
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
4-4,0-0MVC
74
vs
65
Arkansas Little Rock
2-5,0-0OVC
1
2
F
Little Rock
33
32
65
Southern Ill.
29
45
74
Steffe Scores 21 as Salukis Win at Home
11/29/2025 | 9:37:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Drew Steffe scored a career-high 21 points to lead Southern Illinois to its fourth win of the season Saturday night, 74-65 over Little Rock, improving the Salukis to a perfect 3-0 at home.
Steffe shot 8 of 12 from the field and 5 of 9 from 3-point range, capitalizing on crisp ball movement and teammates who found him early and often for clean looks. Coming into the game, the Dawgs had struggled mightily from downtown, shooting 22.8 percent on the season. Steffe fueled the Salukis to a 37.6 percent mark.
"It will help loosen us up. In the first half, nobody wanted to shoot it," head coach Scott Nagy said. "Finally, he was able to make some, and that helped us."
Rolyns Aligbe added nine points and seven rebounds on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night. Davion Sykes scored 10, and Quel'Ron House chipped in eight. Freshman Jalen Haynes continued to see his minutes spike, playing 27 on Saturday and scoring 10 points, adding four assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
"Really proud of Jalen. I thought he played great, gave us a ton of energy and gave us some great minutes off the bench," Nagy said.
The game featured seven lead changes and was defined by defensive grit. Both teams committed more than 15 turnovers, and points were hard to come by against Little Rock's relentless zone defense. Southern Illinois trailed 33-29 at halftime and fell behind 38-30 early in the second half before Steffe drilled back-to-back 3-pointers that reignited the SIU offense and energized the home crowd.
"It felt great. I have not shot it the way I'm capable of shooting it," Steffe said. "We know what we're capable of, and it feels good to get one back."
From there, the Salukis' tempo and physicality took over. Their aggressive pace created transition opportunities and forced the Trojans into foul trouble. SIU attempted 20 free throws compared to Little Rock's 11, a key factor as the game tightened. The Salukis also outperformed from long range, hitting timely 3s while holding the Trojans to 6 of 23 (26 percent) from deep. SIU's bench outscored Little Rock's 29-10.
Kachi Nzel led Little Rock with 17 points, and Johnathan Lawson added 16.
Southern Illinois had dropped four of its previous five games, making this win a timely confidence boost as the Salukis prepare for a road matchup against High Point on Dec. 3.
Steffe shot 8 of 12 from the field and 5 of 9 from 3-point range, capitalizing on crisp ball movement and teammates who found him early and often for clean looks. Coming into the game, the Dawgs had struggled mightily from downtown, shooting 22.8 percent on the season. Steffe fueled the Salukis to a 37.6 percent mark.
"It will help loosen us up. In the first half, nobody wanted to shoot it," head coach Scott Nagy said. "Finally, he was able to make some, and that helped us."
Rolyns Aligbe added nine points and seven rebounds on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night. Davion Sykes scored 10, and Quel'Ron House chipped in eight. Freshman Jalen Haynes continued to see his minutes spike, playing 27 on Saturday and scoring 10 points, adding four assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
"Really proud of Jalen. I thought he played great, gave us a ton of energy and gave us some great minutes off the bench," Nagy said.
The game featured seven lead changes and was defined by defensive grit. Both teams committed more than 15 turnovers, and points were hard to come by against Little Rock's relentless zone defense. Southern Illinois trailed 33-29 at halftime and fell behind 38-30 early in the second half before Steffe drilled back-to-back 3-pointers that reignited the SIU offense and energized the home crowd.
"It felt great. I have not shot it the way I'm capable of shooting it," Steffe said. "We know what we're capable of, and it feels good to get one back."
From there, the Salukis' tempo and physicality took over. Their aggressive pace created transition opportunities and forced the Trojans into foul trouble. SIU attempted 20 free throws compared to Little Rock's 11, a key factor as the game tightened. The Salukis also outperformed from long range, hitting timely 3s while holding the Trojans to 6 of 23 (26 percent) from deep. SIU's bench outscored Little Rock's 29-10.
Kachi Nzel led Little Rock with 17 points, and Johnathan Lawson added 16.
Southern Illinois had dropped four of its previous five games, making this win a timely confidence boost as the Salukis prepare for a road matchup against High Point on Dec. 3.
Team Stats
LR
SIU
FG%
.519
.596
3FG%
.261
.375
FT%
.455
.600
RB
24
28
TO
16
15
STL
12
8
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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