SIUC men’s golf coach Leroy Newton left Peoria Tuesday shaking his head and wondering why his team continues to fall short of its goals this season.

The Salukis finished 14th in the 18-team field with a three-round total of 958, including a final-round score of 327, at the Bradley University Fall Classic. The finish marked the second week in a row that a poor final round prevented SIUC from a stronger finish.

Newton agreed that poor weather conditions played a role in the disappointing finish, but he does not want his team to use the conditions as an excuse for its play.

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We could have done better, Newton said. We didn’t get a chance to play a practice round at Lick Creek Golf Course. It was windy, rainy and cold, but all of other teams had to play in those conditions as well.

SIUC opened the tournament with rounds of 318 and 313 Monday at the par-71 Mt. Hawley Country Club. But Tuesday turned out to be the team’s downfall as the tournament shifted to the par-72 Lick Creek Golf Course.

That finish came one week after the Salukis shot rounds of 314 and 311 but shot a total of 315 in the second round to end up fifth at the Northern Iowa Classic in Marion, Iowa.

Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake University grabbed the tournament title Tuesday with a three-round total of 898. The Bulldogs opened the tournament with a blistering 288, followed up by a 303 and a 307 to coast to a six-shot win. Illinois State University grabbed second with a 904, while Marquette University finished third at 912.

Other MVC finishes included the University of Northern Iowa in fifth place with a 921, Creighton University in 15th with a 962 and the University of Evansville in 18th at 969. The host school Bradley competed with two teams, as its Red team finished eighth with a 935 and its White squad ended up 16th with a 963.

Herrin’s John Raski continued to prove himself as the Salukis’ top individual player Tuesday. Raski opened the tournament with an 81, but recovered for rounds of 75 and 78 to finish in a tie for 28th place at 234.

Kory Neisen was right behind Raski, firing a three-round total of 236 to tie for 36th place. Neisen used rounds of 76 and 78 to carry the Salukis the first two days, but finished with an 82 Tuesday.

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John Raski played well, but he had one bad round, Newton said. He had a pretty good score, but he could have shot lower. He had a couple of bad breaks.

Kory started playing a little bit at the beginning. Other than Raski and Neisen, the rest could have played a little better.

Garrett Steigman shot a 246 to finish in 69th, Jason Hartrich shot a 248 for 77th and Brad Kerr shot a 253 to finish 83rd to round out the Salukis’ efforts.

Drake’s duo of Ben Pettitt and Zach Johnson keyed the Bulldogs to victory. Pettitt opened the tournament with a 67 and followed that up with rounds of 74 and 75 to finish with an even-par 216. Johnson used rounds of 73, 75 and 75 to earn a seven-over-par 223.

Despite a strong showing by Drake’s top two players, Newton is confident his team can compete with anyone in conference if the Salukis can play consistent.

Drake’s got an excellent team, Newton said. They have the No. 1 and 2 players in our area. But Raski played with them (on the final day). He could have even shot a 73 or 74.

The Salukis are scheduled to travel to the University of Texas-Arlington for the UTA Awards Invitational Nov. 2 and 3 to end their fall season.