The Salukis men’s basketball squad welcomed the Murray State Racers to Banterra Center on Friday Feb. 6 in the latest installment of what’s become quite a heated rivalry since the Racers joined the Missouri Valley Conference. Despite the biggest home crowd of the season, the Salukis weren’t able to keep up with the Racers in a 91-81 loss. The loss dropped SIU to 4-9 in MVC play.

Both offenses came out swinging in the early going, with both teams shooting over 50% in the first four minutes of play. Despite the Racers normally favoring high-scoring affairs, it was the Salukis who started out with a 9-7 advantage.

The Salukis continued to stretch their advantage as both teams became acclimated to the raucous atmosphere. Three pointers from forward Rolyns Aligbe and guard Quel’Ron House gave SIU an 18-10 lead with 11:38 remaining in the first half.

Murray State charged back with a 6-0 run, but SIU was able to weather the storm. After the game was tied at 20, the Salukis were able to regain a slim 24-22 advantage with 7:36 left in the first half.

Racers guard Mathis Courbon kept the engine running for the visitors, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to give Murray State the lead. Those were the fifth and sixth 3-pointers of the night for the Racers, giving them a 31-28 advantage with 3:53 left to play in the opening half.

Murray State continued to pour it in from beyond the arc, with guards Javon Jackson and Layne Taylor finding the net from 3-point land. That helped the Racers pull away from SIU to the tune of a 43-34 halftime lead.

House led the scoring for the Salukis at the break with 11, tied with Taylor for the game lead.

During halftime, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tim Leonard led a ceremony to retire the No. 34 jersey number of Saluki Hall of Famer Mike “Stinger” Glenn. Glenn was an integral part of the 1976-1977 Saluki squad that made the Sweet 16, and he scored 1,878 points at SIU, good for fourth-most in school history. Glenn also had a 10-year NBA career, appearing in games for the Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks.

The halftime break didn’t slow down Murray State at all, as they made their first four shots from the floor. That forced Saluki head coach Scott Nagy to call a timeout with 16:39 remaining down 52-37.

SIU was able to make some slight headway in the next five minutes. However, an 0-5 start to the half from behind the arc still hampered the Salukis, trailing 59-48.

Murray State continued to stonewall SIU at every turn as the game entered the late stages. Two more 3-pointers from Aligbe weren’t enough to get the Salukis back in it as they trailed 70-58 with 7:47 remaining in the contest.

SIU started to storm back, down 74-65 with less than six minutes remaining and forcing a Racer timeout. The timeout gave the Racers the break they needed, as they immediately stretched the lead back out to 13 points. That left the score 80-67 in favor of the visitors heading into the final media timeout of the night.

A layup from Prince Aligbe brought the Salukis within single digits yet again, with the score 84-75 with 1:40 left in regulation. His brother Rolyns hit his fourth three of the night the next time down to get SIU within 8 points, the closest they had been all half. 

The Salukis weren’t able to get any closer and eventually fell 91-81.

Guard Damien Mayo Jr. attempted to play in the first half after missing Tuesday’s matchup at Illinois State, but only played two minutes before being pulled.

“It caught up to us tonight with Mayo not playing, he’s our most important player,” Nagy said postgame.

Second half defense was a point of concern yet again for the Salukis, as they gave up 48 of the Racers’ 91 points in the second half.

“We’re not as good defensively in the second half and we weren’t tonight,” Nagy said.

House led all scorers on the night with 26 points. He was joined in double figures by Rolyns Aligbe (18), Prince Aligbe (15) and guard Drew Steffe (10).

The now 10-14 Salukis will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana on Monday Feb. 9 to take on the Indiana State Sycamores at 6 p.m.

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

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