Wednesday, February 19
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
60
vs
62
Murray State
Photo by: Saluki Athletic Communications
Recap | Strong Second Half Not Enough as Salukis Fall to Murray State, 62-60
02/19/2025 | 9:07:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois basketball dropped its third consecutive game Wednesday night as Murray State came away with a 62-60 win inside Banterra Center.
Southern trailed 33-24 at intermission as Murray State took advantage of sloppy play with SIU turning the ball over six times in the first 20 minutes. The Racers converted those SIU turnovers to 11 points.
"You know, my thoughts (on the game) are show up in the first half," head coach Scott Nagy said following the loss. "We play well enough the whole game defensively to win a game, but we were very lethargic in the first half."
The Salukis (12-16, 7-10 MVC) held the Racers to just 10-for-27 from the floor (37 percent) but it was an edge at the free throw line (9-for-9) and from behind the arc (4-for-12) that pushed MSU ahead going into the locker room. Murray shot 9-for-9 at the free throw line in the opening half on six SIU fouls while the Salukis were 3-for-4 as Murray State was whistled for four fouls.
In just over 90 seconds in the first half Murray State (14-14, 8-9 MVC) put together a 9-0 run to take a 28-15 lead. It was Kennard Davis Jr. who would knock down SIU's only 3-pointer of the game to end the scoring streak. Davis would finish the first half with a team-high 14 points.
"I think all you have to do is look at us missing 17 shots and having one offensive rebound (in the first half), and there's really nothing else to talk about. That tells you everything we need to know," Nagy continued. "Now in the second half we played, we competed, we did a good job of running some sets and executing late-game stuff. But if we had shown up, we wouldn't have left it in the hands of anybody else to make calls and that's our fault."
SIU did not give up after trailing at the break. Southern started the second half on a 10-run to tie the game at 33 just over four minutes in. The Salukis would go on to push their lead to 43-37 after Davis completed a layup to go with a foul.
With eight minutes remaining Murray would begin to use its quickness in isolation plays to drive to the rim. The Racers would cut into the Saluki lead from the free throw line where they were 14-for-16 in the second half and 23-of-25 for the game.
Terence Harcum tied the game on one possession before giving Murray State a lead on the next trip down the floor with another layup with 4:12 left to play. Southern would tie the game two more times down the stretch with the biggest bucket of the game coming on a Davis drive with 36 seconds left to play.
SIU would set up on the defensive end and get the initial stop on Murray State with 7.4 seconds left, but the ball would go off a Saluki, giving MSU another opportunity. Murray would capitalize on that chance as Harcum would draw a foul and hit two free throws to win the game.
Davis led all scorers with 26 points to go with 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Ali Dibba was the only other Salukis to score in double digits with 13 points.
JaCobi Wood led the Racers with 20 points. Nick Ellington and Harcum added 14 apiece for the Racers.
UP NEXT
SIU's game against Valparaiso on Saturday, February 22 will tip at 6 p.m. CT. The game is also Southern's annual Blackout Cancer game. To learn more visit SalukisBlackOutCancer.com.
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.
Southern trailed 33-24 at intermission as Murray State took advantage of sloppy play with SIU turning the ball over six times in the first 20 minutes. The Racers converted those SIU turnovers to 11 points.
"You know, my thoughts (on the game) are show up in the first half," head coach Scott Nagy said following the loss. "We play well enough the whole game defensively to win a game, but we were very lethargic in the first half."
The Salukis (12-16, 7-10 MVC) held the Racers to just 10-for-27 from the floor (37 percent) but it was an edge at the free throw line (9-for-9) and from behind the arc (4-for-12) that pushed MSU ahead going into the locker room. Murray shot 9-for-9 at the free throw line in the opening half on six SIU fouls while the Salukis were 3-for-4 as Murray State was whistled for four fouls.
In just over 90 seconds in the first half Murray State (14-14, 8-9 MVC) put together a 9-0 run to take a 28-15 lead. It was Kennard Davis Jr. who would knock down SIU's only 3-pointer of the game to end the scoring streak. Davis would finish the first half with a team-high 14 points.
"I think all you have to do is look at us missing 17 shots and having one offensive rebound (in the first half), and there's really nothing else to talk about. That tells you everything we need to know," Nagy continued. "Now in the second half we played, we competed, we did a good job of running some sets and executing late-game stuff. But if we had shown up, we wouldn't have left it in the hands of anybody else to make calls and that's our fault."
SIU did not give up after trailing at the break. Southern started the second half on a 10-run to tie the game at 33 just over four minutes in. The Salukis would go on to push their lead to 43-37 after Davis completed a layup to go with a foul.
With eight minutes remaining Murray would begin to use its quickness in isolation plays to drive to the rim. The Racers would cut into the Saluki lead from the free throw line where they were 14-for-16 in the second half and 23-of-25 for the game.
Terence Harcum tied the game on one possession before giving Murray State a lead on the next trip down the floor with another layup with 4:12 left to play. Southern would tie the game two more times down the stretch with the biggest bucket of the game coming on a Davis drive with 36 seconds left to play.
SIU would set up on the defensive end and get the initial stop on Murray State with 7.4 seconds left, but the ball would go off a Saluki, giving MSU another opportunity. Murray would capitalize on that chance as Harcum would draw a foul and hit two free throws to win the game.
Davis led all scorers with 26 points to go with 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Ali Dibba was the only other Salukis to score in double digits with 13 points.
JaCobi Wood led the Racers with 20 points. Nick Ellington and Harcum added 14 apiece for the Racers.
UP NEXT
SIU's game against Valparaiso on Saturday, February 22 will tip at 6 p.m. CT. The game is also Southern's annual Blackout Cancer game. To learn more visit SalukisBlackOutCancer.com.
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.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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