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NASHVILLE – Southern Illinois basketball outscored Belmont 55-47 during the second half but could not emerge from Nashville with a victory as the Bruins clinched a 90-86 result on Wednesday evening at the Curb Event Center.

Postgame Press Conference
 
Tied at 83, Belmont’s Tyler Lundblade was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with only 20 seconds remaining, converting all three free throws to give Belmont the advantage. BU successfully maintained their lead to win the contest, improving to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the Valley.
 
Senior Ali Dibba finished with a career-best 33 points alongside nine rebounds in the defeat. The native of Stockholm, Sweden netted 25 of his 33 points in the latter half while shooting 10-for-13 from the field.
 
After trailing 43-31 at halftime, the Salukis commenced the second half with a 16-4 surge, tying the match at 47 before the first media timeout. During this stretch, SIU added 3-pointers from Kennard Davis Jr., Rolyns Aligbe, and Damien Mayo Jr.. The Salukis (5-11, 0-5 MVC) achieved their largest lead of the match at 55-50 with 14:23 remaining after Dibba drove the ball to the hoop and finished through contact.
 
The two teams continued to trade momentum in the second half, resulting in five lead changes and four ties in the last 12 minutes of play. With SIU up by two and just over eight minutes remaining, Belmont surged with their longest run of the evening, scoring eight consecutive points to take the lead back at 75-69 with 5:21 to go.
 
Southern, however, remained resilient, battling back to equalize at 81 with 1:19 left after Dibba drained one of his season-high five 3-pointers. SIU and Belmont exchanged layups, finding themselves knotted at 83 before a crucial foul with 20 seconds remaining that resulted in three free throws, ultimately sealing a Bruin victory.
 
Southern compelled Belmont into 13 turnovers, converting those errors into 18 points, while the Bruins only capitalized on four points from nine SIU turnovers.
 
Each player who took the court contributed to the scoring for Southern, headlined by Dibba’s 33. Davis added 13 points, with 11 coming in the second half, while Jarrett Hensley contributed 11 points along with four assists and one block before fouling out late in the game.
 
Aligbe pitched in nine points and secured four rebounds, while Damien Mayo Jr. registered eight points with two 3-pointers.
 
As a unit, SIU recorded 22 assists in the contest, with seven players dishing out assists. Sheridan Sharp, Drew Steffe, and Davis each contributed five to lead Southern.
 
Southern concluded the game shooting 50 percent from the field (33-66) and 42 percent (13-31) from beyond the arc.
 
Belmont enjoyed an edge at the charity stripe, converting 17 of 20 attempts, while Southern was limited to just 11 free throw attempts, making seven. SIU committed 17 personal fouls in contrast to BU’s 10.
 
The Bruins were paced by Jonathon Pierre’s 21 points. Brigham Rogers fell just short of a double-double, scoring 17 points with nine rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to Banterra Center on Saturday, hosting Missouri State at 6 p.m. CT.
 
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Stay updated with all the latest news and information about the Salukis by visiting SIUSalukis.com, and following the team on X at @SIU_Basketball, on Instagram at @SIU_Basketball, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SIUBasketball. Fans can also download the “Salukis” mobile application from the App Store or Google Play Store.