Well, it’s gone from bad to worse for Drake men’s basketball.
The Bulldogs (12-17, 6-12 MVC) dropped their matchup against Southern Illinois (13-15, 7-10 MVC) on Wednesday, 66-61, marking the seventh straight loss for Eric Henderson’s squad.
The Salukis ended their losing streak against Drake, which spanned seven games before their Feb. 18 win at the Knapp Center.
"Well, that one stinks," Henderson said postgame. "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 three 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."
For most of this game, Drake held the advantage.
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 lead – early in the first – and held the advantage over the Salukis for over 21 minutes of playing time.
Henderson’s team couldn’t even take advantage of Southern Illinois being without its leading scorer, when Damien Mayo Jr. fouled out with about three minutes left – after scoring 22 points.
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, 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 Sunday, Mar. 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 struggles in loss to Southern Illinois