The SIU Salukis gave the best birthday present their home crowd could possibly wish for.
The Dawgs (1-1) won their home opener against Missouri S&T 86-64, all while celebrating the Banterra Center’s 60th birthday.
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Kennard Davis Jr. led the team with 22 points and seven steals, with Elijah Eliiot behind him with 14 points off the bench.
During halftime SIU took the time to honor Saluki Hall of Famer David Lee, who made an appearance at the game. Lee, a walk-on in the 1962 season and was on the first team to call then-named SIU Arena home, received an All-American honorable mention and scored 838 points during his SIU career.
The Salukis carried a narrow lead through much of the first half, allowing S&T to hang in the game and end the half trailing by only five. Davis Jr. started hot and had two three-pointers in the half, and also made his impact felt on the defensive end of the court, where he had three steals.
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“It was a good game. We got to compete, blessed to play another day of basketball,” Davis Jr. said. “Got to play against one of my former high school teammates so that was fun.”
The second half saw a more aggressive style of play from the Salukis side. Ali Dibba put up 11 points in the half and finished the game with four three-pointers overall. Elliot also scored 12 of his 14 points and made two three-pointers.
The Dawgs had yet another slow start out of the half. Though the game never felt like it was really in doubt, the Miners hung about 10 points back before SIU was able to pull away for good with around 7 minutes left.
“Just communicating on defense and offense, just making sure we’re on the same page,” Davis Jr. said. “Just playing hard was really what it was, we were playing a little lackadaisical in the beginning so we just had to play hard and pick it up.”
Head coach Scott Nagy said that though the team improved as the game went on, it was not up to his expectations.
“The first half was certainly not to our standards, and we let them know that. I thought the second half was better” Nagy said. “Defensively it didn’t feel better but I think they shot 31-32 percent and we held them under one point per possession.”
According to Nagy, they weren’t “on it” offensively this game and there also weren’t enough rebounds, which is something that concerned him in both this game and the previous game against Charleston.
The team collected only 40 rebounds, 30 defensive and 10 offensive.
“You win by 22, you win a college basketball game, and you go in the locker room, and it just doesn’t even feel very good,” Nagy said. “I think partly because they know that I have high expectations, and partly they know they weren’t ready.”
Offensive concerns for Nagy are centered around shooting more free throws and a lack of movement on the offensive end, something that is vital for his free-flowing offense to function properly.
“I just want guys that, one, will spend the time on it, and two have enough to them to put the ball in the basket when you’re standing there, and stop letting it be contagious to our team,” Nagy said. “We’re just not moving the ball. There’s too much dribbling, too much, it’s too much one on one, and not enough ball movement and team play.”
Nagy said the focus in practice will be driving and keeping a steady game on the floor.
“Quit jumping in the air and pivot and pass, drive, pivot, pass, drive, pivot pass,” Nagy said. “There’s gonna be a lot of that probably tomorrow.”
The Salukis will play next on Nov. 14 in Stillwater, OK, when they face off with Big 12 opponent Oklahoma State. The Dawgs are 2-0 against the Cowboys in the last two years.
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