The Salukis found out the hard way that there is no place like home, as SIUC dropped the second game of its two game road trip to the University of Northern Iowa Wednesday night, 65-91.

The 9-8, 2-3 Dawgs shot a disappointing 35-percent from the floor against UNI to follow up their 33-percent effort the preceding night at Drake, as the shooting woes continue for the struggling men’s basketball team.

SIUC was limited to only 28 first-half points, but made a strong effort to cut the 44-28 Panther halftime lead to single digits behind the strong play of freshmen forwards Monte Jenkins (10 points, 5 rebounds) and James Jackson.

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Saluki coach Rich Herrin said he challenged his players during the halftime break, and the two freshmen answered the call.

I asked who was ready to play and rebound, two freshmen (Jenkins and Jackson) stood up, and they did a good job, Herrin said.

Herrin also said his team gave a strong effort, but came up short because of UNI’s 24-6 point advantage from the free-throw line.

We didn’t get annihilated from the floor, we got annihilated from the line, he said. We battled. We just didn’t lay down. We had the opportunity to cut the lead to single digits (in the second half), but didn’t.

The Dawgs had four players reach double-digits in scoring, but that was not enough as the Panthers answered the call by placing four of their own players in the category.

Sophomore guard Troy Hudson led the Salukis with 16 points, and senior forward Scott Burzynski, sophomore guard Shane Hawkins and Jenkins all contributed 10 points in the losing effort.

For much of the game, SIUC owned the field goal category, but UNI eliminated that factor with their 73-percent shooting from the bonus stripe.

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Northern Iowa’s offense proved to be too much for the dazed and confused Saluki defense to handle, as the Panthers shot a blistering 58-percent from the floor in the second half to follow Drake University’s 65-percent in the second half Tuesday night.

Panthers’ guard Darian DeVries fired in 21 points, guard Sredrick Robinson had 17 points, forward Jason Daisy scored 18 points and center Sean Hawkins banged in an unneeded 15 points, as UNI dominated the tempo of the basketball game.

UNI improved its Missouri Valley Conference record to 3-3, passing the Salukis in the standings.

The Salukis return to Carbondale to take on the University of Evansville Saturday in SIU Arena at 11:05 a.m., and will try to regroup within the comforts of home for another away game in Omaha, Neb. against Creighton University.

Herrin said his team has not lost its focus, and hopes to rebound against the Aces before hitting the road once again.

We’ll be there, and that’s for sure, Herrin said. We’ll have something on the floor and be ready to play.