Southern Illinois lost to Belmont 73-68 on Saturday night in Carbondale after giving up two decisive 12-0 runs late in each half. Drew Steffe and Jaylen Haynes led the Salukis, scoring career-highs with 24 and 22 points, respectively. Their efforts came as the team played without guards Quel’Ron House and Isaiah Stafford.
The Salukis performed well from long range, making nine three-pointers out of 25 attempts, which was their highest total since December 3, 2025.
Steffe hit a three-pointer that gave Southern Illinois a four-point lead late in the first half, but the team failed to score for the remainder of the period. Belmont capitalized with a 12-0 run to close out the half ahead by eight points.
Belmont maintained its lead early in the second half until Steffe scored 14 of Southern’s next 17 points, putting his team up by four at the under-eight-minute mark. Haynes then added seven consecutive points, including a three-pointer that brought the home crowd to its feet and gave SIU a five-point advantage with just over four minutes remaining.
However, Southern Illinois again went cold offensively during crunch time. The Salukis failed to score on six straight possessions while Belmont responded with another 12-0 run to take control of the game in the final seconds. Haynes ended SIU’s drought with another three-pointer but it was not enough to recover from Belmont’s surge.
Afterward, Steffe discussed what needs to improve for Southern Illinois during close games: “We’ve just gotta get stops down the stretch,” he said. “We’ve just gotta step on their necks and just go get easy buckets and go guard.”
Head Coach Scott Nagy remained optimistic despite another narrow defeat: “I really think, and I told our players this, that if they’ll hang in there, we will look back on this and see the blessings that are gonna come from it, and I really do believe that,” he said.
The loss drops SIU’s record to 8-11 overall and 2-6 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Salukis will travel next to Northwest Indiana for a matchup against Valparaiso on Wednesday, January 21 at 7 p.m.
Fans can find updates about Southern Illinois men’s basketball at SIUSalukis.com or follow @SIU_Basketball on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram (@SIU_Basketball), or Facebook (Facebook.com/SIUBasketball). There is also a “Salukis” mobile app available via major app stores.
