Nagy earns 600th career win behind Rolyns Aligbe's double-double

Wednesday, January 28

Carbondale, IL

6 PM

Southern Illinois University

9-12,3-7MVC

UNI

13-9,5-6MVC

UNI

Southern Ill.

Photo by: Abby Harris

Nagy earns 600th career win behind Rolyns Aligbe's double-double

01/28/2026 | 9:59:00 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Rolyns Aligbe scored a career-high 21 points along with his third double-double of the season in Southern Illinois' 65-50 victory over Northern Iowa on Wednesday night. With the win, Head Coach Scott Nagy earned his 600th career victory. He becomes the 13th active coach to reach 600 wins, and the 70th overall to reach this milestone, having coached in Division I basketball as well as other levels of the NCAA.

Nagy praised Rolyns Aligbe's rebounding ability and his determination to close the game.

"Rolyns has a good nose for the ball, and he had real life to him tonight," Nagy said. "I think it was one of the deals where like 'This is ending now, and I'm gonna make sure that it does.'"

Neither team could get off the mat early, but SIU got a boost with the return of Quel'Ron House, who poured in eight first-half points. Rolyns Aligbe's scoring night was punctuated by shooting 4-for-4 from three-point range, and he hit two early to help Southern to a 27-19 lead at the break.

Davion Sykes had eight points and ignited the crowd with three high-flying dunks on the night. He spoke with Saluki Radio's Luke Martin about how he tries to take what the defense gives him as the season progresses.

"Just knowing the right time when to do things, and just being patient," he said. "Because at a certain point, people are going to start messing up, they're gonna turn their heads, and if I'm attacking, they still have to guard me."

Both teams shot better in the second half, but Southern finally put the Panthers away, growing a lead as high as 17 with 3:03 remaining. Fittingly, the final two points for the Dawgs were scored on an alley-oop dunk from House to Rolyns Aligbe, helping him achieve his career high in points to go along with 10 rebounds. House finished the night with 17 points off the bench in his first action since Jan. 14.

The 15-point win breaks Southern's four-game losing streak, improving to 9-12 overall and 3-7 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

UP NEXT
The Salukis will welcome the UIC Flames to the Banterra Center on Saturday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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.