Evenly matched in the first half, the Illinois State men's basketball team was bested by a 37-point second half Southern Illinois scoring surge, as the Salukis downed the Redbirds 65-52, Saturday afternoon at Redbird Arena in front of a crowd of 7,501.
Picking up the win, Southern Illinois secured its fourth straight sweep of the `Birds and improve to 16-5, 9-2 in the Missouri Valley. The Redbirds fall to 8-11, 3-7 in Valley action.
Jamaal Tatum got the Salukis' on the board early, scoring SIU's first five points. But Nedu Onyeuku would give the `Birds their first lead of the night, 6-5, driving the lane for a quick layup at the 16:29 mark. Southern regained the lead on the ensuing play off a Matt Shaw jumper and would lead by as much as seven in the half (10-17) after Tatum drained another jumper with 10:05 left in the first period.
The Redbirds pulled within one, 17-16, after Neil Plank tossed in five points on back-to-back Illinois State possessions. The teams traded baskets for the final five minutes but a rebound put-back by Saluki forward Randal Falker with just four seconds left ensured a 28-23 Saluki edge at the half.
Quickly extending its lead to 12, Southern Illinois opened the half with a Tony Young three-pointer as Falker added a jumper and Shaw drained a trey of his own to make the score 37-25 with 18 minuets left to play. Redbird freshman Michael Vandello silenced the Saluki run with a three-pointer, bringing the `Birds within nine, 37-28.
Back-to-back three point buckets by ISU's Brandon Holtz and Levi Dyer helped to quiet a 6-0 Southern Illinois run but the `Birds continued to trail by nine with 12:45 left in the contest. A 7-0 Saluki run, spanning four-and-a-half minutes, was highlighted by a jumper and a three by Young and secured the Southern win.
Falker led Southern Illinois with a double-double, pouring in 18 points and adding 15 rebounds. Young tossed in 17 points, including five three-pointers. Illinois State was paced by Brandon Holtz with 12 points, nine off three-point baskets.
The Redbirds head to Peoria, Ill., on Wednesday February 1 for rivaled game with the Bradley Braves. The 7:35 p.m. match-up will be televised locally on WEEK.
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