With 22 seconds left in the first half, Saluki guard Jalen Haynes laid the ball up, and Davion Sykes immediately threw it down to put the exclamation mark on a dominant opening 20 minutes for the Saluki men’s basketball squad. 

The Salukis welcomed the Indiana State Sycamores to Banterra Center for their final home game of the season Wednesday, Feb. 25. They ended up cruising to a 66-55 victory that brought them to 9-10 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

They also honored seniors Sykes, Prince Aligbe, Damien Mayo Jr., Jorge Moreno and Isaiah Stafford.

“For us to put on a show and actually be able to get a W on my senior night means the world to me,” Mayo said postgame.

Mayo started the game on fire for the Salukis, scoring 6 points in the first six minutes. The rest of the Salukis, however, needed a little longer to get going, going a combined 0-5 from the floor. The Sycamores rained down 3-pointers on the other end of the floor, enough for a 12-6 lead.

The next segment of play was far kinder to the Salukis. Guard Quel’Ron House turned a steal into an assist on a Sykes slam to cap off a 7-0 run and force an Indiana State timeout with 11:28 left in the first half and the Sycamores leading 15-13.

The timeout did absolutely no favors for the Sycamores. The run stretched to 16-0, giving the Salukis a 22-15 lead. That forced Indiana State head coach Matthew Graves to call another timeout with 8:40 remaining in the opening half.

Guard Xavier Hall finally broke Indiana State’s over seven minute scoring drought, but that’s as far as the Sycamores’ luck turned, as they still trailed SIU 32-19 with 2:20 left until halftime.

SIU continued to get what they wanted on both sides of the floor. The Haynes to Sykes alley-oop connection gave the Salukis a 36-23 lead going into the half.

Mayo led the Salukis with 8 points at the break, tied with Hall for the game lead.

Both teams started slow coming out of the locker room. SIU was just fine to trade baskets, as it meant they got to keep a 49-34 advantage eight minutes into the second half.

SIU stretched the lead to 20 multiple times, but couldn’t make it stick for more than a possession. They had to settle for a 62-47 lead with 2:36 to go in the matchup.

The rest of the game was smooth-sailing for the home side, with the final buzzer ushering in a 66-55 home victory. Head coach Scott Nagy said he was impressed with the defensive effort postgame.

“About three weeks ago the team said defense is what they want to be known for, and they’ve done a great job,” he said. “Coach Hawkins has done a great job coaching the defense.”

House led the Salukis in scoring with 12 points. He was joined in double figures by Haynes (11), guard Drew Steffe (11), Sykes (10) and Mayo (10).

The now 15-15 Salukis end the regular season in Evansville, Indiana on Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. against the Evansville Purple Aces.

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

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