DES MOINES, Iowa – A streaky performance left the Drake men's basketball team with another tough loss at home.
 
The Bulldogs led by 13 points in the first half, fell behind by eight, then pulled into a tie before fading again and losing to Southern Illinois 66-61 at the Knapp Center on Wednesday night despite Jalen Quinn's first career double-double.
 
SIU went ahead to stay with 6:27 left and held the Bulldogs to two field goals the rest of the way in handing Drake its seventh straight loss. The Salukis snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs (12-17, 6-12 Missouri Valley Conference) and won for just the second time in the last 14 games in the series.
 
Quinn, the MVC's leading scorer, finished this one with 23 points – his 16th game with at least 20 – and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. He also logged two steals and an assist.
 
No other Drake player scored in double figures. Jaehshon Thomas scored seven points off the bench, going 3-for-4 from the field with a three-pointer, and Isaiah Carr turned in a solid performance with six points, six rebounds and five blocks, which matched his season high. His two assists tied his career high in that category.  Andrew Alia also scored six points and added five rebounds.
 
Carr's shot-swatting helped Drake record a season-high eight blocks. But Drake could not overcome its 33 percent second-half shooting, which included just one three-point basket in 11 attempts, and again was hurt by an opponent's accuracy from distance.
 
Southern Illinois, last in the MVC in three-point field goals and percentage, finished 10-for-26 from long range after going 0-for-15 from deep its previous game, a 70-60 loss to Bradley. The Bulldogs have given up an average of 11 triples a game during their losing streak.
 
Quinn was feeling it from distance early, knocking down three treys in the game's first nine and a half minutes. His third triple was the first of eight straight makes by the Bulldogs in a 19-5 run that produced a 31-18 lead with 6:34 left in the half.
 
Six different players scored during that burst. The right-handed Carr dropped in a nice hook shot and hit a layup with his left hand, Eli Shetlar and Thomas each knocked down a three and Quinn drove for a bucket after the 7-foot Carr forced a turnover at the other end. Owen Larson hit Alia cutting to the basket for a layup to cap the run and the Bulldogs seemed to be rolling.
 
But the shots suddenly stopped dropping and the Bulldogs missed seven in a row as SIU went on an 11-0 run to draw to 31-29. Quinn hit a runner and found Braden Appelhans in the left corner for a three-ball to stop the run and Drake settled in at halftime with 36-31 lead.
 
A Larson drive and Quinn layup stretched the lead to 40-33, but the Bulldogs got no more separation and soon found themselves playing from behind. Carr, who had been an intimidating presence around the basket, left the game after picking up his fourth foul with 14:08 to play and SIU capitalized, running off 10 straight points for a 50-44 lead. It was 53-45 after a Saluki triple, but Drake came back again.
 
Griffen Goodbary followed up his own miss, Thomas spun down the lane for a layup, Quinn banked in a soft floater and Thomas made a slick reverse layup on a baseline drive. It was 53-all and the Bulldogs were back in it.
 
But they never regained the lead and hit only two more shots after the Thomas layup, which came with 6:54 left. The Salukis got the lead with a free throw and layup and held off the Bulldogs the rest of the way, sealing the game by making 5-of-8 free throws in the final 2:03.
 
Drake, meanwhile, struggled at the line when it had chances to cut into the lead, missing the front end of two 1-and-1 opportunities and going 1-for-2 on another occasion. The Bulldogs still had a chance when Shetlar sank two of three shots after being fouled behind the arc, cutting the lead to 64-61 with 34.9 seconds remaining. But they turned it over on their next two possessions and SIU made two final free throws.
 
The Bulldogs finished 6-for-13 from the line and shot 40-percent overall for the game.
 
Damien Mayo Jr. led Southern Illinois (13-17, 7-10) with 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including five triples. The Salukis won in Des Moines for the first time since a 79-72 victory on Feb. 1, 2020.
 
"We had a terrific first half and I thought we had great fight," Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. "We really did a good job of protecting the paint. Now, they made a couple of three's 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 is now down to its final two regular-season games. The Bulldogs play at Valparaiso on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. and host Northern Iowa in a 2 p.m. game on Sunday, March 1. Then it's on to the MVC Tournament in St. Louis, which Drake has won each of the last three years.
 
Team Notes
—Drake, suffering its seventh straight loss, slipped to 12-17 overall including a 6-12 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—The Bulldogs' home record fell to 6-10, including a 3-6 mark in MVC games.
—This marked Drake's seventh loss at home by five points or fewer.
—The seven-game losing skid is the longest at the school since the 2016-17 campaign when the Bulldogs lost eight straight games (Nov. 24-Dec. 19)
—Drake collected a season high eight blocked shots
—Drake shot 40 percent (24-60) from the floor, including 33.3 percent (10-30) in the second half.
—After shooting 42.9 percent (6-14) from three-point range in the first half, Drake hit 9.1 percent beyond the three-point arc (1-11) in the second half, missing its first nine three-point shots. Andrew Alia broke the drought making a trey with 4:23 left in the game.
—Drake hit 46.2 percent from the free throw line (6-13) missing the front end of two one-and-one bonus situations in the last 4:53 of the game.
—Southern Illinois used a 10-0 run to rally from a 44-40 deficit after Drake center Isaiah Carr went to the bench with 14:03 left after picking up his fourth foul.
—Drake made eighth straight shots during a 4 minute 57 second stretch (11:30 to 6:33) to turn a 12-11 advantage into a 31-16 cushion following a layup by Andrew Ali with 6:33 left in the first half. Then the Bulldogs missed their next seven shots, allowing Southern Illinois to go on 11-0 run to pull within 31-29. Drake closed out the half with 5-2 run.
 
Player Notes
—Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn posted his first career double-double with 23 points, including 14 in the first half, along with a career-high 10 rebounds.
—Quinn, who leads the MVC in scoring (19.8 avg.), enjoyed his 16th 20-plus scoring game. It was his 10th 20-plus scoring game in his last 12 outings.
— Quinn made three three-point baskets, enjoying his fourth game this season making three or more three-point baskets.
—Quinn moved into No. 12 on the Drake single-season scoring list with 577 points, passing Rayvonte Rice (2011-12, 555).
 —Redshirt sophomore Eli Shetlar added seven points.
—Senior Isaiah Carr tied a season high with five blocked shots— his sixth game this season collecting three or more blocked shots.
—Carr added six points and six rebounds, while tying his career high with two assists.
—Senior guard Jaehshon Thomas scored seven points - his most in the last five games.
—Thomas made his first three-point basket over the last five games while ending an 0-9 shooting slump beyond the arc.
—Wilguens Jr. Exacte, who had started in 13 games, missed his 15th consecutive game because of a foot injury.
 
The Series
—Drake had a seven-game winning streak against Southern Illinois snapped and trails in the all-time series, 61-49, including a 28-25 mark in games played in Des Moines.
—This was the Salukis first win in Des Moines since Feb. 1, 2020, when they claimed a 79-72 win.