17 seconds into the Salukis’ matchup Friday, Nov. 7 against the Kansas City Roos, senior forward Prince Aligbe was called for a traveling violation. 

What would normally be an innocent mistake set the tone for the early going. Three early 3-pointers from Roos junior guard Karmello Branch gave the visiting team a 10-6 lead that felt much larger only four minutes into the contest.

Defense continued to be an issue for both teams going forward. The Salukis held on long enough to break off a 10-2 run and come within 17-16 of Kansas City with 11 minutes left in the first half.

The Salukis continued to battle back and forth with the Roos through the middle portions of the half. A 6-0 run by the home side finally gave them some room to work with in the form of a 39-33 lead with 3:10 left in the opening half.

From there the Salukis imposed their will on Kansas City the rest of the half. They opened up what was already a 6-0 run into a 15-1 run to end the half leading 48-34. 

The defense held the Roos to zero field goals the last 6:18 of the half and forced 4 turnovers in the same time frame. On the other side of the floor, the Saluki offense shot 71.4% from the field in the first half.

The Salukis continued where they left off to start the second half. Both forward Rolyns Aligbe and guard Quel’Ron House reached double digit points by 15:37 left in the game with SIU leading 60-45.

SIU continued to get any shot they wanted as the game went on, only missing one shot in the next five minutes of play. The Roos didn’t have the same luck, giving the Salukis a 74-51 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

The large lead for the Salukis gave them a chance to see many different looks as guard Jalen Haynes, guard Caden Hawkins, and forward Max Pikaar all entered the game by the four minute mark. At that point the home team had stretched their lead to 92-67. 

A 3-pointer from guard Damien Mayo put the Salukis above the century mark for the first time since a Dec. 2, 2023 101-62 win over Saint Louis. A harmless Kansas City layup made the final score a 101-78 victory for SIU.

Eleven of the 12 Salukis to step on the floor scored, led by House’s 18 points. Rolyns Aligbe (14), forward Davion Sykes (14), and forward Prince Aligbe (12) made their way into double figures as well.

“Anybody on any given night can go off. If one guy isn’t ready the next guy is. I think that’s how it’s gonna work this year,” Sykes said postgame.

The 2-0 Salukis have only played at Banterra so far, but now stare down the barrel of a 5-game road trip.

“Average teams can win at home,” head coach Scott Nagy said. “Good teams win on the road.”

The Salukis start their road trip Wednesday Nov. 12 with a 9 p.m. tip at Nevada.

Sports reporter Eli Hoover can be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram at @hoovermakesart 

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