Lead Slips Away from Salukis in 68-66 loss to UIC

Saturday, January 31

Carbondale, IL

6 PM

Southern Illinois University

9-13,3-8MVC

UIC

13-10,8-4MVC

UIC

Southern Ill.

Damien Mayo Jr.

Photo by: Zuzanna Gaik

01/31/2026 | 10:09:00 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois could not hold its double-digit lead late into the second half as UIC stormed back and claimed the contest 68-66 Saturday night in Carbondale.

Damien Mayo Jr. put another heroic effort together on the offensive end, making a career-high five three-pointers as part of a 20-point night.

The theme of the game was big momentum swings for both sides. UIC began the game with a 14-5 run, but the Dawgs responded, rolling past the Flames with an electric 23-4 spurt to take control.

Southern did not commit a turnover in the first half and would capitalize. A short 8-1 burst to end the half put SIU up 36-25.

That run continued into the second half as the Salukis scored seven of the first nine points to begin the frame, stretching the lead as high as 18 with 17:21 remaining. Mayo's fifth three of the night gave the Salukis a 54-38 lead with 14:18 to go. With its seven-game win streak in jeopardy, UIC needed to flip a switch, and they did.

The Flames were able to reduce the deficit to under 10 with over 10 minutes to go, and slowly but surely continued to chip away.

Southern's second-half ball security was a far cry from what fans saw in the first half, as the Dawgs turned the ball over 10 times in the final 20 minutes. That, combined with UIC's elite offensive rebounding, helped the Flames climb back into the contest. UIC entered the night as the Missouri Valley Conference's best on the offensive glass and grabbed a whopping 18 on Saturday night.

Two late turnovers and a second-chance layup from Abdul Momoh paved the way for UIC to take a 67-66 lead, its first since the 10:00 mark of the first half.

Down 68-66, Southern had one final chance to tie or win the game with two seconds left, but an attempted alley-oop layup by Jalen Haynes was off the mark.

Head Coach Scott Nagy talked about his team's need to execute down the stretch.

"We talk about the two E's, effort and execution, tonight we did not execute," he said. "It's amazing how many plays that we didn't run correctly."

Mayo echoed that sentiment when speaking about the rebound margin, where SIU ended up minus-20 on the night.

"Throughout the game, it's the subtle details that we're taught that we're not doing," Mayo said. "I feel like it's a matter of intensity and just being there, being present."

SIU is now 9-13 on the season and 3-8 in MVC play.

UP NEXT
The Salukis travel to Normal to play Illinois State on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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