Murray State Uses Efficient Shooting to Top Salukis

Friday, February 6

Carbondale, IL

7 PM

Southern Illinois University

10-14,4-9MVC

Murray State

18-7,10-4MVC

Murray St.

Southern Ill.

Quel'Ron House

Photo by: Abby Harris

02/06/2026 | 11:14:00 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois could not get enough stops against Murray State in a 91-81 loss to the Racers on Friday night in the Banterra Center. The Racers shot 58.8% overall, including 64.0% in the second half, while Southern struggled from long distance once again, going 5-for-22 (22.7%).

"We weren't good enough defensively to help us on the offensive end," Head Coach Scott Nagy said. "You gotta be able to shoot the ball."

Quel'Ron House followed up his 22-point performance on Tuesday with a career-high 26 to lead the Salukis. Rolyns Aligbe also provided a big lift offensively, sinking four threes en route to an 18-point night. His brother Prince Aligbe chipped in 15 points, his highest total since Southern's first matchup with the Racers when he had 19.

The Salukis played with good energy on both ends early, stretching a lead as high as eight with 12:42 to go in the first half.

Murray's big offensive night truly began when Layne Taylor splashed in back-to-back triples to tie the game at 20. The Racers scored 23 points in the final 10 minutes and sprinted ahead of SIU, taking a 43-34 lead into the half after shooting 8-for-14 from three-point range.

The deficit grew as high as 15 in the second half, putting Southern in a tough position against one of the nation's best offensive teams.

The Salukis eventually got within 10 on a Prince Aligbe dunk with 6:10 to go, but they could not make the key shot to truly get within striking distance.

"We had a lot of opportunities, we missed some free throws, we missed wide open shots," House said. "I would say at one point that we got the stop, we just couldn't, on the offensive end, we didn't help ourselves out."

Those missed opportunities were taken advantage of by the Racers, who in the end cruised to a 10-point victory on the road.

SIU is 10-14 on the season, and 4-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

UP NEXT
The Salukis travel to Indiana State on Monday to play the Sycamores. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

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