Ali Dibba dropped 29 points, but Bradley was simply unstoppable on their home court. 

The Braves’ Duke Deen nearly matched Dibba by himself, with 25 points of his own. Bradley also had two players that had 15 points, which underscored the struggles the rest of SIU’s offense had. 

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Drew Steffe had a nice game with 11, including two 3 pointers, and was the second-leading scorer for the Dawgs. No other Saluki had more than 10.

“Particularly defensively, we weren’t good enough,” head coach Scott Nagy said.

The Salukis held a 22-21 lead with 4:55 left to play in the first half, but Bradley turned it on  with a 15-0 run over the next three minutes to find themselves leading 33-22 before a Dibba layup stopped the run. 

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Bradley continued their offensive showcase early in the first half, but the Salukis were able to stay within around 10 points behind thanks to Kennard Davis Jr.’s five points and a Steffe 3 pointer.

The Salukis offense went cold around the fifteen minute mark in the half, and Bradley built up a 62-41 lead. But the Dawgs weren’t done.

The bench helped to fuel a 13-0 run; Davion Sykes, who played 28 minutes and was at times a part of a five guard lineup, contributed two buckets, and Dibba had five points. Steffe also chipped in four of his own.

Jorge Moreno, who finished with six,  also helped to close the gap even further, bringing Salukis to within seven with a quick four points. After a Dibba jumper, the Braves went on a 12-2 run to finish the game and make the final score 78-64. 

“He played well, he keeps the ball inside. I’d like to see him be a little more aggressive offensively,” Nagy said. “But usually when he’s in, he’s playing well and our team plays well.”

While the offense still seemingly played well – they still shot 45.6% from the field, and even 43.8% from 3 point range on 7-16 shooting – Nagy wasn’t satisfied with their showing.

“We spent most of our time out on the perimeter running around. We had no physicality to us,” Nagy said. 

The difference came on the defensive end and in the Braves’ 3 point prowess. Bradley shot 14-27 from 3, good for 51.9%.

“Our defense just wasn’t good enough, it’s just not even close,” Nagy said. 

The Dawgs (12-14, 7-8 Missouri Valley Conference) will return home to face off with the Belmont Bruins (17-9, 9-6 MVC), who they only lost to by four points in their last matchup. The game will be on ESPN+ on Feb. 15 at 6 p.m.

I don’t want to get swept by people. It bothers me,” Nagy said. 

Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook.

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