Banterra Center | Southern Illinois University Athletics
Banterra Center | Southern Illinois University Athletics
Southern Illinois University's basketball team secured a decisive victory over North Dakota State with a 69-44 win at Banterra Center. This triumph brings the Salukis' season record to 2-2. The game saw Southern Illinois hold the Bison to a field goal percentage of just 26.5 and limit their three-point attempts to five out of 27.
Head coach Scott Nagy expressed satisfaction with his team's defensive performance, stating, "I'm obviously very pleased with our defensive effort." He noted that even though North Dakota State was missing one of their key players, his team executed their defensive strategy effectively. Nagy added, "We want to move the ball and throw it in the post offensively... but the defense is what I am most pleased with."
Ali Dibba led Southern Illinois in scoring, contributing 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Kennard Davis Jr. and Jarrett Hensley each added nine points, while Elijah Elliott chipped in eight points along with four rebounds and two assists.
The Salukis dominated defensively from the start, restricting North Dakota State to just 23 first-half points on 10-for-37 shooting and maintaining pressure in the second half. Southern Illinois capitalized on their size advantage by scoring 24 points in the paint during the first half alone.
In total, SIU scored 50 points in the paint throughout the game while attempting only eight three-pointers. The team also managed to keep turnovers low, committing just seven throughout the match.
On rebounds, Southern Illinois edged out North Dakota State 43-40. Hensley led with nine rebounds for SIU; Dibba contributed seven boards along with his scoring efforts; Rolyns Aligbe added another seven off the bench.
For North Dakota State, Jacari White was notable despite limited resources due to missing players; he scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds.
Next up for Southern Illinois is an away game against University of Florida scheduled for Friday evening broadcasted on SEC Network followed by participation at Gulf Coast Showcase during Thanksgiving Week.
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