Salukis Outlast Evansville, Win Fourth in a Row as Arch Madness Looms

Sunday, March 1

Evansville, IN

3 PM

Southern Illinois University

16-15,10-10MVC

Evansville

7-24,3-17MVC

Southern Ill.

Evansville

Salukis Outlast Evansville, Win Fourth in a Row as Arch Madness Looms

03/01/2026 | 10:50:00 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Evansville kept pace with the Salukis for most of the second half, but SIU ran away in the late stages to claim the 81-67 victory on Sunday afternoon. The win is SIU's fourth in a row, and the fifth-straight road win in conference play. Southern last won five true road games in a row during the 2015-16 season when it won eight straight between Nov. 21 and Jan. 24.

Southern got a big effort from senior forward Prince Aligbe, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double in Saluki maroon. He spoke to Saluki Radio's Luke Martin about what it has taken to get this season turned around.

"I'm just glad we've been going on a run, and I know it's because we've been building better habits in practice daily," he said. "If we keep our minds right and focus on what we need to do, it's going to help us a lot, so I'm excited."

Despite its thrilling and emotional finish in a victory over Valparaiso just 24 hours earlier, the Purple Aces came out with high energy as the teams went back-and-forth for a majority of the first half.

SIU was able to create separation towards the end of the half with an 8-0 run, capped off by a perfectly executed play to get Jalen Haynes an open layup.

Down 38-27 at the break, Evansville came out firing and matched its first-half total within the first 11 minutes of the second half.

Despite their opponent gaining confidence at home, SIU never trailed in the final minutes, as Damien Mayo Jr. and Drew Steffe knocked down key triples when they needed them most. The duo finished a combined 8-for-15 from three-point land, and Mayo recorded a career-high 23 points in the process.

UE's final points came at the 4:36 mark as Leif Moeller's layup got his team within two at 69-67. From that point forward, SIU forced three turnovers and scored on all but one possession to pull away and win the game 81-67 on a 12-0 run.

In the midst of a four-game win streak to end the season, Head Coach Scott Nagy needs his team to stay grounded as they enter Arch Madness.

"Just be consistent, it can't be these highs and lows," he said. "Really proud of our guys."

UP NEXT
Southern Illinois will officially find out its first opponent for the 2026 MVC Tournament when the league releases the bracket at 8 a.m. Monday morning.

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