Sunday, December 21
Peoria, IL
1 PM
Southern Illinois University
6-7,0-2MVC
69
at
73
Bradley
9-4,2-0MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
34
35
69
Bradley
39
34
73
Rolyns Aligbe
Photo by: Jordan Kruse
Cold shooting plagues Salukis in tough loss at Bradley
12/21/2025 | 6:55:00 | Men's Basketball
PEORIA, Ill. - Southern Illinois shot just 15.8% from the three-point line in a hard-fought loss at Bradley on Sunday in Peoria, Ill.
"It's amazing we were in the game with the way we shot the ball," Head Coach Scott Nagy said.
Damien Mayo Jr. made Southern's first three-point attempt of the day at the 18:11 mark, but the Salukis would miss their next 16 attempts from deep.
The contest was always within single digits, but only one lead change and two ties occurred. Southern led in the early going, but the Braves never looked back after Jaquan Johnson hit a three-pointer that gave the Braves a 13-11 lead.
Leading 39-34 at the half, Bradley kept Southern at arm's length through the majority of the second, stretching the lead to nine on three separate occasions in the second half, including a 69-60 advantage with just 2:50 remaining.Â
After hitting a layup with a foul and making the free throw, Rolyns Aligbe cut the Bradley lead to six, and broke Southern's cold streak on a clutch three with 50 seconds to go. But down by three with a 20-second difference between the shot and game clock, Aligbe committed an ill-advised foul to put the Braves on the free-throw line.
Timoty van der Knapp knocked down two free throws to bring the deficit back to five, but Mayo hit his second three of the game on a fadeaway three from the corner with 17 seconds left, giving Southern another extra life. Executing a perfect press, Quel'Ron House stole the ball, and all of a sudden, Southern had a chance to tie or take the lead for the first time in the second half. House fed Aligbe down low, but the sophomore could not handle the pass, the ball falling out of bounds with only 1.1 seconds remaining. A quick foul put Bradley back at the line with a chance to seal the contest, and Alex Huibregtse calmly hit two free throws to bring the deficit to four with mere tenths of a second left.
An unfortunate ending for Aligbe, who put together another strong performance with 16 points and eight rebounds. Mayo led SIU with 18 points five rebounds, and four steals.
SIU is now 0-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play and falls to 6-7 overall.
UP NEXT
The Dawgs will return to action on Monday, Dec. 29 when they travel to Murray State. The Racers have started 2-0 in The Valley and have won six in a row overall.
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.
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"It's amazing we were in the game with the way we shot the ball," Head Coach Scott Nagy said.
Damien Mayo Jr. made Southern's first three-point attempt of the day at the 18:11 mark, but the Salukis would miss their next 16 attempts from deep.
The contest was always within single digits, but only one lead change and two ties occurred. Southern led in the early going, but the Braves never looked back after Jaquan Johnson hit a three-pointer that gave the Braves a 13-11 lead.
Leading 39-34 at the half, Bradley kept Southern at arm's length through the majority of the second, stretching the lead to nine on three separate occasions in the second half, including a 69-60 advantage with just 2:50 remaining.Â
After hitting a layup with a foul and making the free throw, Rolyns Aligbe cut the Bradley lead to six, and broke Southern's cold streak on a clutch three with 50 seconds to go. But down by three with a 20-second difference between the shot and game clock, Aligbe committed an ill-advised foul to put the Braves on the free-throw line.
Timoty van der Knapp knocked down two free throws to bring the deficit back to five, but Mayo hit his second three of the game on a fadeaway three from the corner with 17 seconds left, giving Southern another extra life. Executing a perfect press, Quel'Ron House stole the ball, and all of a sudden, Southern had a chance to tie or take the lead for the first time in the second half. House fed Aligbe down low, but the sophomore could not handle the pass, the ball falling out of bounds with only 1.1 seconds remaining. A quick foul put Bradley back at the line with a chance to seal the contest, and Alex Huibregtse calmly hit two free throws to bring the deficit to four with mere tenths of a second left.
An unfortunate ending for Aligbe, who put together another strong performance with 16 points and eight rebounds. Mayo led SIU with 18 points five rebounds, and four steals.
SIU is now 0-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play and falls to 6-7 overall.
UP NEXT
The Dawgs will return to action on Monday, Dec. 29 when they travel to Murray State. The Racers have started 2-0 in The Valley and have won six in a row overall.
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.
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Team Stats
SIU
BRAD
FG%
.443
.414
3FG%
.158
.438
FT%
.667
.900
RB
35
37
TO
13
15
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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