Five Salukis scored in double figures, but make no mistake: senior Jarrett Hensley was at the center of the 88-79 Saluki win.
Hensley, who was the lone senior honored for SIU, racked up 17 points and 6 rebounds, including shooting 50% from beyond the arc.
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“Just happy for Jarrett, for him to be able to have a good senior night,” head coach Scott Nagy said. “It’ll be a positive memory for him.”
Drew Steffe was on fire for the Dawgs, going 5-5 from 3 point range and 6-9 from the field on his way to 18 points.
Kennard Davis Jr and Ali Dibba wouldn’t be forgotten though. Davis Jr. put up 24 and Dibba had 22, and the Salukis shot 50% from the floor overall, including 54.2% from 3.
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SIU rose to the challenge of guarding ISU, including holding center Chase Walker to only 3-8 shooting.
“I thought (assistant coach Steve) Hawk(ins) did a good job. It’s a hard team to guard,” Nagy said.
The win also snapped a four game Saluki losing streak.
“We started 0-5… We’ve come out of this before. We know how to do this,” Nagy said.
The Redbirds were playing SIU to a tie before back-to-back Steffe and Hensley 3-pointers put the Dawgs up 19-10 and forced ISU to take a timeout.
Dibba and Davis had baskets, but Hensley continued his standout first half by hitting another 3 pointer with 9:17 in the half before swishing another with 5:48 to go to put SIU up 35-23.
The Banterra Center was buzzing with energy throughout the first half, and the roof nearly came off when Dibba threw down the hammer for a dunk, which was followed by a Steffe 3 that raised the volume even higher.
ISU closed the first half on a 7-1 run to find themselves down 43-35, and pulled to within five early in the second half.
Back-to-back 3 pointers by Davis Jr. got the Dawgs going again, and Dibba showed off his deadly first step for a layup. Two free throws from Davis Jr. had the Dawgs seemingly cruising to a win, up 65-51 with 11:11 left to play.
Three quick fouls on Rolyns Aligbe extinguished the momentum the Salukis had, but the Salukis weathered the storm and again were up double digits. But after a run, the Redbirds found themselves down only 76-71 with 4:17 left to go.
Former Saluki Dalton Banks shined for ISU, scoring a team-high 18 points, including two baskets in crunch time for the Redbirds. But it wasn’t enough to overcome Davis Jr., who seemingly couldn’t miss from beyond the arc.
Davis Jr. hit another pair of back-to-back 3 pointers to slam the door on a possible Redbird comeback, and Dibba and Hensley helped put the game away at the free throw line in the closing minutes.
Nagy said that his team is in a good spot to finish the season and enter the conference tournament .
“I think the guys are in a good spot. They’re loose, but they’re also locked in and focused. In terms of a mental aspect, it’s about as good a spot as we can have them in,” Nagy said.
SIU (13-17, 8-11) will be on the road for their final regular season game of the season against Indiana State (13-17, 7-12) before the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball conference tournament, Arch Madness, begins on March 6.
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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