Reserve guard Isaia Howard scored 14 of his career-best 21 points in the first half, leading top-seeded Drake (28-3) to a 68-53 win against No. 8 seed Southern Illinois (14-19) in the first quarterfinal game of the 2025 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Friday afternoon at Enterprise Center.
The Bulldogs extended their Arch Madness winning streak to seven games and advanced to the semifinals for a 2:30 pm matchup Saturday against the winner of the (4) Belmont/(5) Illinois State quarterfinal game.
Howard was joined in double-figures by Drake teammates Bennet Stirtz (15) and Tavion Banks (10), who finished with a double-double by pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Ali Dibba led three Southern Illinois players in double-figures with 19 points, while Drew Steffe added 11 and Kennard Davis, Jr. 10.
Howard’s previous career-best was 13 points, scored earlier this season versus Murray State, and he topped that total with 14 in the first half, including a personal 8-1 outburst midway through the period to put the Bulldogs out in front. After Dibba tied the game at 16-16 on a tough floater with 9:21 left in the half, Howard buried three-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Bulldogs the lead for good. Davion Sykes split a pair of free throws for the Salukis, before Howard scored on a driving layup with 6:27 left in the half for a 24-17 Drake lead and another Howard layup with 5:18 left gave the Bulldogs their first double-digit margin, 27-17. SIU’s Drew Steffe was called for a foul with eight-tenths of a second remaining in the half and Cam Manyawu split the resulting free throws for a 36-25 Drake lead at the intermission.
Drake’s first-half surge was sparked by its defense and deep lineup: the Bulldogs turned SIU’s nine first-half turnovers into a 15-1 advantage in points off turnovers and Howard’s effort, in particular, gave the Bulldogs an 18-0 edge in bench points through the first 20 minutes.
Although he led the Salukis with 10 points at the break, Dibba was saddled with his second foul with 9:32 remaining in the half and did not attempt another shot after his tying bucket with 9:21 left in the opening frame. He came out firing to start the second half, however, scoring seven points during SIU’s 10-5 surge to start the period, twice shaving his team’s deficit to six points during the opening salvo.
Drake countered with a quick 6-0 run on buckets from Stirtz, Howard and Banks, pushing its lead to a then game-high 12 points, 49-37, with 14:12 remaining. Mitch Mascari’s 3-pointer with 6:22 left extended the lead to 15 points, 56-41, and the Salukis were unable to get their deficit back into single digits the rest of the way.
While the shooting percentages were roughly the same for the two rivals, Drake’s 15-point margin of victory could directly be tied to the turnover differential. Committing just six turnovers, Drake forced Southern Illinois into 15 turnovers and converted for a 19-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
