The Salukis men’s basketball team faced their biggest test of the young season on Wednesday, Nov. 12 when they traveled to Reno to take on the Nevada Wolfpack. 

Guards Isaiah Stafford and Quel’Ron House helped SIU to a fast start offensively. The combo combined for all nine of the teams points in the early going, giving the Salukis a 9-7 lead four minutes into the contest.

Neither offense could find their footing in the early. The Salukis used an early 12-5 advantage in the rebounding category to hold on to a 13-9 lead with 11:49 left in the opening half.

SIU seemed to have the Wolfpack figured out after that, leading by as many as six points throughout the middle stages of the half. The home team stormed back though and went on a 7-0 run to take a 19-18 lead with 8:51 left in the first half.

The two squads traded the lead eight more times the rest of the half. Finally the Saluki defense was able to hold Nevada without a field goal for the last 2:53, including stopping a furious onslaught of shots as the halftime buzzer sounded. The visitors went to the locker room with a 34-32 lead.

The halftime break seemed to be exactly what both offenses needed, as the points could not come fast enough early in the second half. The lead changed seven times in the first five minutes of the half, and it left the Salukis with a 46-45 deficit.

SIU put their foot on the gas over the next few minutes, going on a 9-0 run. The run forced a Nevada timeout with the Salukis leading 54-48 and 12:06 left on the clock.

The Wolfpack refused to go down without a fight, and went on a 6-0 run of their own to tie the game at 54. A pair of free throws from guard Davion Sykes gave the Salukis a 56-54 lead with 7:56 to go in the second half.

Neither team could gain any sort of distance on the scoreboard as the time continued to wind down. Nevada held a slim 65-64 lead heading into the final media timeout.

After the Wolfpack took a quick 67-65 lead, the Salukis retook the lead 68-67 and took a timeout with 2:18 left to plan for the rest of the contest. Nevada did the same with 53 seconds to go, trailing 70-69 and with possession of the basketball.

After the Salukis got a stop on the ensuing possession, the Wolfpack were forced to force free throws to extend the game. Both of House’s free throws were good, giving SIU a 72-69 lead with 19 seconds left. Nevada guard Corey Camper Jr. wasn’t ready to go home though, and he hit a 3-point shot from the corner to tie the game at 72, sending the game into overtime.

Nevada had the upper hand early on in overtime. The Salukis pulled within 78-77 with 2:03 left before head coach Scott Nagy called a timeout.

From that point forward, it was a matter of both teams making their free throws. Nevada was successful and the Salukis struggled. Nevada went 9 for 12 from the free throw line in the extra period while the Salukis went 2 for 8, missing 4 in a row.

That free throw advantage gave Nevada an 86-81 victory in overtime over the Salukis.

House impressed despite the loss, leading the Salukis with 22 points on 48% shooting.

The now 2-1 Salukis continue their road trip Monday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. when they travel to Fargo, ND to take on the North Dakota State Bison.

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

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