Southern Illinois University’s men’s basketball team secured a 54-50 win over Illinois State on Tuesday night in Normal, Illinois. The Salukis limited the Redbirds to 31.7 percent shooting from the field, marking Illinois State’s lowest home point total since January 14, 2024.
Quel’Ron House led Southern Illinois with 22 points, while Rolyns Aligbe contributed his fourth double-double of the season by scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Despite their defensive success, the Salukis faced offensive challenges of their own, managing only one made three-pointer and a total of 54 points.
The team played without senior Damien Mayo Jr., which Head Coach Scott Nagy addressed after the game. “You don’t have Mayo on the road against Illinois State, you’re thinking ‘Oh, that’s not good,” Nagy said. “I haven’t won too many games 54-50. We’ll do whatever we have to do.”
Illinois State lost momentum early when leading scorer Chase Walker picked up two fouls within a span of 24 seconds and was benched at the 15:18 mark in the first half by Head Coach Ryan Pedon. During his absence, the Redbirds managed only two field goals until Jack Daugherty hit a three-pointer with just under three minutes left in the half.
Despite this opportunity, Southern Illinois trailed at halftime after Landon Wolf completed a four-point play for Illinois State to close out the period with a score of 24-22.
The second half saw both teams trading baskets until SIU freshman Jaylen Haynes scored an and-one layup with just over a minute remaining to give Southern Illinois a five-point lead at 49-44. The Redbirds did not score again until there were only 27 seconds left in regulation.
With this victory, Southern Illinois improved its record to 10-13 overall and now holds a conference record of 4-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
The Salukis are scheduled to host Murray State on Friday night at 6 p.m.
For more updates on Southern Illinois men’s basketball, fans can visit SIUSalukis.com or follow the team on X (@SIU_Basketball), Instagram (@SIU_Basketball), and Facebook (Facebook.com/SIUBasketball). The “Salukis” mobile app is also available for download from both the App Store and Google Play Store.
