Well, it’s gone from bad to worse for Drake men’s basketball.
The Bulldogs (12-17, 6-12 MVC) dropped their Feb. 18 matchup against Southern Illinois (13-15, 7-10 MVC), 66-61, marking the seventh straight loss for Eric Henderson’s squad.
The Salukis ended a long losing streak in the series, which spanned seven games before their Wednesday victory at the Knapp Center.
“Well, that one stinks,” Henderson said. “Obviously, had a terrific first half. I thought we had great fight. We really did a good job of protecting the paint. Now, they made a couple of 3s on a couple of our mistakes, but I thought we had great fight and great connectivity.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to sustain that, and they were able to get the best of us.”
Drake held the advantage for much of the game.
The Bulldogs took the lead with around 12 minutes remaining in the first half, and Southern Illinois didn’t return to the top until midway through the second half. Drake held a 13-point edge early in the first half and led for more than 21 minutes of playing time.
Southern Illinois was without its leading scorer for the final three minutes. Damien Mayo Jr. fouled out after scoring 22 points, but Drake couldn’t take advantage.
Drake stood out in the first half, making six 3-pointers (42.9%) as Southern Illinois also rained down shots from beyond the arc. But the Bulldogs couldn’t carry that success into the second half, making just one of 11 attempts from deep.
The Bulldogs also struggled from the free-throw line, making six of 13 attempts from the charity stripe.
Henderson’s team will hit the road for one game against Valparaiso before returning to Des Moines for the regular-season finale against UNI on March 1.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake basketball falls to Southern Illinois, drops seventh straight
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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