Saluki men’s basketball welcomed the Illinois State Redbirds to the Banterra Center Thursday, Dec. 18 for the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both squads. The Salukis could feel the absence of senior forward Prince Aligbe in a 75-68 loss.

When asked postgame about Aligbe, who had started each of the Salukis’ 11 games to this point, not seeing the floor, head coach Scott Nagy had a simple response: “It was our decision. Coach’s decision.” Nagy provided no comment to follow-up questions.

The first seven minutes was the epitome of a game between two conference rivals. The early stages saw two lead changes, two ties and a combined 5 turnovers between the two squads. A 5 for 5 shooting streak for the Salukis gave them an early 12-10 lead.

Illinois State couldn’t get any closer than that over the middle portions of the first half. SIU forward Rolyns Aligbe blowing by Redbird forward Brandon Lieb for a baseline layup to make it 21-15 forced Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon to burn a timeout with 8:16 remaining in the half.

Despite the Redbirds getting the lead as far down as one point, the Salukis continued to find a way to stay ahead. Guard Quel’Ron House’s 12 points and the team’s 57% shooting percentage played a large part in SIU holding a 32-26 lead with 2:33 to go in the first half.

House’s sixth turnover of the half with 17 seconds left on the clock gave the Redbirds a chance to cut into the lead once more, but Redbird forward Chase Walker’s layup dropped harmlessly off the rim as the first half clock expired. That meant SIU went into the locker room with a 35-30 lead.

Both teams struggled to score coming out of the locker room. Part of that was due to the three early turnovers between the two teams, but another big part was the lockdown defense both teams showcased. The offensive stalemate left SIU with a 42-37 lead four minutes into the half.

A 9-0 for the visiting side briefly gave the Redbirds a 43-42 lead with 14:01 left in regulation. The Salukis were able to take the lead right back as House made a pull-up jumper to make it 45-43 Salukis heading into a media timeout with 12 minutes remaining.

The spark continued for Illinois State, as they outscored SIU 12-5 coming out of the timeout. After a floater from guard Drew Steffe made it 55-50, Nagy took a timeout to right the ship.

However, the ship continued to be lost at sea. Nagy got a technical foul for arguing with referee Gary Maxwell with 6:01 to go. The ensuing free throws from Redbird guard Mason Klabo gave Illinois State a 63-52 lead, the first double-digit lead of the game for either team. 

“I just don’t know in that moment if that was the right time to get (a technical foul) but I didn’t let off of them and I probably deserved it,” Nagy said. 

Both teams stayed even keel over the next couple minutes, and the scoreboard read 66-56 in favor of the Redbirds heading into the final media timeout. 

The Salukis got as close as six points down the stretch, but never any closer. Steffe’s two missed free throws down 69-62 with 1:17 to go seemed to be the nail in the proverbial coffin.

A late charge wasn’t enough to change the Salukis fate, and the Redbirds walked out of the Banterra Center with a 75-68 victory.

House led the Salukis with 22 points in the loss. He was joined in double figures by Steffe (17) and Rolyns Aligbe (10).

The now 6-6 Salukis head to Peoria, Illinois Sunday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. for their first conference road matchup of the year against the Bradley Braves.

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

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