SIU men’s basketball was less than a minute away from its first Missouri Valley Conference road win of the season, but lost at the end.

The Salukis (9-15, 2-9) lost to the Drake Bulldogs (7-16, 4-7), 63-61 Wednesday at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. SIU has three more chances to get a conference road win this season.

Drake led SIU 31-29 at halftime. Junior guard Anthony Beane had 16 of the Salukis 29 points in the half.

The game went back and forth in the second half. SIU had a one-point lead with less than a minute remaining. Freshman forward Jordan Caroline missed two free throws leading to the Bulldogs’ final possession.

Drake senior guard and forward Chris Caird hit a three-pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining to take the 63-61 lead.

Beane led the floor in scoring with 22 points.

Drake freshman guard Reed Timmer led his team with 19 points. Caird followed with 12 points.

The Bulldogs hit 13 three-pointers compared to SIU’s six. Beane hit six of them, his most this season.

The Salukis play the Illinois State Redbirds (15-8, 7-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday at SIU Arena.

Aaron Graff can be reached at [email protected] or at 536-3311 ext. 256.