The Salukis returned from a holiday break and hit the road to take on the University of Northern Iowa on Saturday.

The Dawgs jumped out to an early lead, but their conference rivals were right on their tails, staying within five for the majority of the period.

Advertisement

“We got off to a better start, which we struggle with.” Scott Nagy said.

Jarrett Hensley led the offense for SIU in the first half, putting up 14 points in the first 20 minutes. He finished the afternoon with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including four three pointers, and six rebounds.

“He was unafraid, he was assertive and he’s put the work in.” Nagy said.

Advertisement*

The momentum of the game shifted towards the end of the first half. From down nine, the Panthers closed out the first half on a 13-point run to go to the locker room with a 38-34 lead that they would not relinquish.

“We went through a dip and we were just not able to bounce back from it.” Nagy said.

The time off the court didn’t slow down the home team’s offense, as the Panthers picked up the first five points of the second half to extend their lead.

After trading scores for a couple minutes, another double-digit scoring run for UNI ballooned the lead to 19.

In terms of points, the Panthers were led by Jacob Hutson and Tytan Anderson, who scored 20 and 15 points respectively on Sunday. Anderson also came away with 10 rebounds in the effort.

A final 14-2 run for the Panthers was enough to put the game so well out of reach that the 21-5 run for the Dawgs in the final nine minutes wasn’t enough to threaten the lead. As the clock hit zero, the scoreboard read 78-67 UNI.

The Panthers shot 56 percent as a team from the field, compared to SIU’s 46 percent, and outrebounded the Dawgs 33-28 en route to their second conference win of the season. 

“They were more physical than we were, really on both ends.” Nagy said.

With the loss, the Salukis fell to 5-8 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. SIU looks to bounce back on New Year’s Day as they host the Evansville Purple Aces.

“I’ve coached teams that have started 0-2 and won the league,” Nagy said, “But it really isn’t a matter of what I think, it’s what the players think.”

Sports Reporter Nick Pfannkuche can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and X @dailyegyptian.

Advertisement