Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University's basketball team secured their first road victory of the season with a 65-60 win against Austin Peay at F&M Bank Arena. The game, which took place on Saturday afternoon, saw three Salukis scoring in double figures, led by Ali Dibba who scored 18 points and reached his 1,000th career point.

Head coach Scott Nagy commented on the win saying, "It's our first road win so we want to be positive about it, but there's still a lot to work on dealing with pressure and free throws." He added that the team should have won by a larger margin if they had made their free throws, which has been a challenge for them.

Southern Illinois (5-6) struggled in the final minutes without scoring a field goal as Austin Peay (4-6) narrowed SIU's lead from eight points to three with 1:20 left after Isaac Hansel hit a three-pointer. Senior forward Jarrett Hensley made crucial rebounds late in the game and was fouled on a putback attempt. Hensley converted both free throws to extend SIU's lead to five points.

In the final moments, Dibba secured the victory by scoring his milestone point from the free throw line. Coach Nagy highlighted the importance of winning close games for future situations: "Figuring out how to win a game is important... our last two games have been that case, and we won both of them so we're moving in the right direction."

The Salukis initially faced turnover issues but managed to gain control of the game with runs that increased their lead. At halftime, Southern Illinois led 36-25 after shooting 50% from the field and making four three-pointers.

In contrast, Southern Illinois encountered foul trouble early in the second half allowing Austin Peay's Sai Witt to capitalize on free throw opportunities. Witt scored nine times from free throws and finished with 25 points and ten rebounds for Austin Peay. Teammate Takeo Carpenter contributed an additional twelve points.

Davion Sykes performed efficiently with nine points from perfect shooting while contributing defensively. Hensley maintained consistent scoring performance throughout recent games while Kennard Davis Jr. added twelve points and eight rebounds for Southern Illinois.

Guard Sheridan Sharp marked his first career start by contributing five points along with assists and rebounds while Drew Steffe also supported playmaking efforts.

Looking ahead, Southern Illinois will host High Point next Saturday at Banterra Center in their final nonconference matchup before conference play begins.