ST. LOUIS — Jalen Quinn had 22 points in Drake’s 67-63 win over Southern Illinois on Thursday in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, breaking a nine-game losing streak in the process.

Drake, the No. 9 seed, trailed 31-27 at halftime before outscoring eighth-seeded Southern Illinois 40-32 in the second half. The Bulldogs improved to 13-19 overall, while the Salukis concluded their season at 16-16.

Eli Shetlar added 16 points to go with three steals for Drake. Owen Larson finished with 14 points.

“Super proud of our guys and I thought they matched some physicality,” Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. “We had our backs against the wall and it was a tough stretch for us, there’s no doubt about that, and to be able to continue to stay together.”

Quel’Ron House finished with 28 points for the Salukis (16-16, 10-11). Davion Sykes added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Rolyns Aligbe finished with seven points and 16 boards.

Drake 67, Southern Illinois 63

DRAKE (13-19) — Federiko 3-5 0-0 6, Alia 2-4 0-0 4, Larson 5-12 0-0 14, Quinn 8-17 5-9 22, Shetlar 5-12 3-5 16, Thomas 0-3 0-0 0, Goodbary 1-1 2-2 5, Carr 0-0 0-0 0, Exacte 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS 24-56 10-16 67.

S. ILLINOIS (16-16) — P.Aligbe 1-4 1-2 3, R.Aligbe 3-11 0-0 7, House 12-22 1-5 28, Mayo 3-11 0-0 6, Steffe 3-11 0-0 6, Sykes 5-10 1-2 11, Haynes 0-1 0-0 0, Webber 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS 28-71 3-9 63.

Halftime–S. Illinois 31-27. 3-Point Goals–Drake 9-31 (Larson 4-9, Shetlar 3-10, Goodbary 1-1, Quinn 1-4, Exacte 0-1, Federiko 0-1, Alia 0-2, Thomas 0-3), S. Illinois 4-25 (House 3-5, R.Aligbe 1-4, P.Aligbe 0-1, Haynes 0-1, Sykes 0-2, Mayo 0-5, Steffe 0-7). Rebounds–Drake 30 (Alia 11), S. Illinois 45 (R.Aligbe 16). Assists–Drake 14 (Larson 4), S. Illinois 12 (House 3). Total Fouls–Drake 14, S. Illinois 14.