Southern Illinois University’s men’s basketball team struggled with shooting accuracy in a close loss to Bradley on Sunday in Peoria, Illinois. The Salukis made only 15.8% of their three-point attempts during the game.
“It’s amazing we were in the game with the way we shot the ball,” Head Coach Scott Nagy said.
Damien Mayo Jr. hit Southern Illinois’ first three-pointer early, but the team missed its next 16 shots from beyond the arc. The game remained within single digits throughout, with only one lead change and two ties. Southern led briefly at the start before Bradley took control after Jaquan Johnson scored a three-pointer for a 13-11 advantage.
Bradley maintained a lead at halftime, up 39-34, and extended it to nine points several times in the second half. With less than three minutes left, Bradley led 69-60. Rolyns Aligbe reduced the deficit to six points after converting a layup and free throw, then ended Southern’s long-range drought with another three-pointer late in the game.
However, as Southern trailed by three points and less than a minute remained, Aligbe committed a foul that allowed Bradley to increase its lead from the free-throw line. Timoty van der Knapp scored two free throws for Bradley before Mayo hit his second three-pointer of the contest. After executing a press and stealing possession, Quel’Ron House passed to Aligbe under the basket, but he was unable to handle it and lost control out of bounds with just over one second left. Bradley secured victory at the free-throw line on their final possession.
Aligbe finished with 16 points and eight rebounds while Mayo led SIU with 18 points, five rebounds, and four steals.
With this result, Southern Illinois is now winless in Missouri Valley Conference play (0-2) and holds an overall record of 6-7. The team is part of NCAA Division I athletics according to its official website and has appeared in ten NCAA Tournaments as documented by SIUSalukis.com. Notable alumni include Walt Frazier and others, contributing to college basketball history through tradition and NBA talent production as noted on their site. Home games are played at Banterra Center in Carbondale.
Next on their schedule is an away matchup against Murray State on December 29.
Coach Scott Nagy continues to lead Southern Illinois Salukis Men’s Basketball within Missouri Valley Conference competition primarily operating out of Illinois.
