The Salukis men’s basketball squad traveled to Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to take on the Drake Bulldogs in a matchup that could prove incredibly important for Arch Madness seeding in less than a month. In a rematch of a Jan. 14 matchup where the Bulldogs came back to win a game where they were down 17 points in the second half, the Salukis got their first win in Des Moines in six years in a 66-61 decision. The victory brought SIU to 7-10 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

The first four minutes were very polarizing for Saluki guard Damien Mayo Jr., He hit two 3-pointers, but then immediately got a technical foul for taunting the Drake bench after the second. After guard Andrew Alia split the free throws and guard Jalen Quinn hit a 3-pointer, the Bulldogs took an early 10-8 advantage.

Despite shooting well from distance themselves, 3-pointers continued to hinder the Salukis. Quinn and Bulldog guard Eli Shetlar combined for four threes in the early going to give Drake an 18-13 lead with 9:58 left in the first half.

The shots continued to fall for the Bulldogs, and in turn the lead continued to stretch. Another 3-pointer, this one from guard Jaeshon Thomas, brought Drake’s lead to 27-18 with 7:38 remaining in the opening half.

An 8-0 run for the Salukis, powered by Mayo and guard Drew Steffe, brought the Bulldog lead down to 31-26. Both defenses buckled down, and the score stayed the same going into the last media timeout of the first half.

A Quel’Ron House 3-pointer brought the score to 31-29, but that’s as close as the Salukis would get in the first half. The Bulldogs used a quick burst to take a 36-31 halftime lead. Saluki head coach Scott Nagy wasn’t thrilled with the results on the defensive end in the first half.

“We weren’t very good defensively in the first half,” he said postgame.

Mayo’s 4-4 performance from behind the 3-point line gave him a team-leading 12 points after the first 20 minutes of play.

SIU cut down the lead a tad during the first four minutes of the second half. Four different Salukis scored to cut their deficit to 42-40 with 15:37 left in the game.

Mayo continued to pour in points from all three levels, helping the Salukis on a 10-0 run. SIU’s offensive prowess and Drake going on a four minute scoring drought gave the Salukis a 50-44 lead with 11:26 left in regulation.

The Salukis continued to fend off the Bulldogs as time wound down. Despite Mayo missing much of the next segment due to foul trouble, SIU held on to a 53-49 lead with 7:43 left in the contest.

Both teams continued to battle back and forth, with neither team able to gain a competitive advantage. That left the score at 61-57 in favor of the Salukis with 3:15 remaining in the matchup.

With 2:57 left and a 61-57 lead, Mayo committed his fifth foul of the ballgame, meaning the Salukis would have to play without him the rest of the way. That came into play in a huge way with 31 seconds left when guard Caden Hawkins coughed the ball up in the backcourt. That meant the Bulldogs had a shot at tying the game. A House steal crushed Drake’s dreams, and two made free throws later the Salukis clinched a 66-61 road win.

While 3-point shooting has been an issue for the Salukis all year, it was their saving grace against Drake, shooting 39% from distance but only 32.5% from inside the arc.

Despite fouling out, Mayo led the Salukis with 22 points, tying his season-high he set on Dec. 3 at High Point.

“(Damien) was just gonna make sure we didn’t lose,” Nagy said.

He was joined in double figures by House (15) and Steffe (11).

The now 13-15 Salukis finish out their Iowa trip on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. when they head to Cedar Falls to take on the Northern Iowa Panthers.

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

Advertisement