The SIU Salukis (2-2) played an aggressive game against the North Dakota State Bison (2-3) at Banterra Monday night leaving 25 points with a 69-44 win.

Ali Dibba led the team in scoring with 17 points and put up seven rebounds, while Jarrett Hensley led the Dawgs in boards with eight defensive rebounds. The team also had a season-low seven turnovers after having 18 against Oklahoma State.

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The game plan for the Salukis revolved entirely around the paint. 50 of their 69 points came in the lane, showing off the potential of interior dominance. After being hit hard in the paint by Oklahoma State, SIU was stout versus the Bison down low, as the Dawgs gave up only 24 points in the lane.

SIU only gave up 44 points in the game, which was 20 points less than their previous low in the season. The Dawgs kept NDSU off balance all night, holding to 36.4% from the floor and 25.8% from three-point range.

“We took eight threes the whole night, just threw it in, threw it in, threw it in, shot 51% but the defense is what I’m most pleased with,” Head Coach Scott Nagy said. “ We should have beaten them worse on the glass, as poor as we made him shoot it but, you know, they play hard, super well coached.”

The Salukis had a slow start offensively but still found themselves up by 13 ten minutes into the game, as their defense was pulling the majority of the weight. The Bison wouldn’t hit the 10 point mark until the clock was under 6 minutes. Dibba, who had his highest scoring output as a Saluki, paced the team with nine points and 4 defensive rebounds in the period.

The Bison tightened the Salukis’ lead towards the end the first half, creeping within 10 in the last few minutes, but the Dawgs were able to keep their foot on the gas defensively to maintain an 11-point lead at the end of the first half.

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The Salukis picked up right where they left off before the break. Kennard Davis Jr put in two three pointers and eight points overall to match Dibba’s production in the half. The team had six fast breaks in both periods and 26 points off the bench.

“They were out rebounding us in the first half, which should not have happened, which tells you how hard they were playing. They just, they just missed shots early,” Nagy said. “We tried to be at the rim, but mostly just that, our guys executed a different kind of defensive game plan, and they trusted us, and they did a great job.”

The Dawgs pulled down 43 rebounds overall, gobbling up 38 on the defensive side of the floor while adding another five on the offensive end, leading to eight second-chance points.

This was largely due to the ferocious rebounding done by Hensley, Dibba and Rolyns Aligbe, who had seven rebounds on the night. Freshman big man Jorge Moreno also flashed in limited minutes and went a perfect 3-3 from the field.

Nagy said the team was good offensively and learned to be patient, which allowed them to shoot the eight threes they got tonight.

“We talked to our guys about how they’re going to run us through offense. And, you know, what we can’t do is just come down and jack quick shots. We’ve got to run them through offense and throw it in,” Nagy said.

Going into their next game in Florida, Nagy said he wants the team to take its confidence from this game and focus not on how many points they score but how they perform defensively.

“I mean, we only scored 69 points, but, but we won by 20 some. And so, you know, the first game of the year, we scored 80 points and got beat by 10,” Nagy said. “Not how many points can we score, but how many stops can we get, and if our guys will stick with that.” 

The Salukis will take on the University of Florida Gators at O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL, on Nov. 22 at 6:00 p.m.

“I really, like our team, like our kids, they’re all very close. They’re happy for each other,” Nagy said. “For slapping a group together like we did, I feel like we’re coming together pretty quickly, and so that’s been a lot of fun for me to watch.”

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Jamilah Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.

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