CARBONDALE, Ill. – After starting the game shooting well, the Illinois State Redbirds hit a cold spell while the Southern Illinois Salukis continued its hot start, and that gap – 10 points at halftime – would be same margin at the end of the game, a 59-49 Saluki win.
Josiah Strong scored 14 points to tie for the game-high mark, while Antonio Reeves added 10 points, and DJ Horne nine. Howard Fleming Jr. pulled down a game-high-tying eight rebounds, while Horne led the team with three assists.
The Redbirds scored the first five points of the game on a Horne three-pointer and a Reeves lay-in and remained at five after an Abdou Ndiaye three-pointer at 8-3. SIU fought back and took a one-point lead at 11-10 with 15:43 to play in the first half, before ISU got a Mahorcic lay-in 15 seconds late to re-give the Redbirds a one-point advantage. SIU continued its run and stretched the lead to nine behind a 15-2 streak, as the Redbirds would not lead again in the game. The first half deficit grew to as many as a dozen points and settled at 10 heading into the locker room at halftime.
Illinois State quickly closed the gap to six in the second half, as a Reeves jumper took the score to 36-30; however, an 11-0 run followed to push the margin to its high point of 17 points with 11:29 to play in the contest. The Redbirds kept chipping away at the deficit but could not get it back into single digits the rest of the way.
Lance Jones scored 14 points to lead the Salukis as Steven Verplancken scored 12 and Kyler Filewich 11. Dalton Banks pulled down eight rebounds while also dishing out a team-best four assists.
The Redbirds made 21 of 53 shot attempts (39.6 percent) from the field, and just 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from beyond the arc. SIU converted on 42.9 percent of its shots (21-of-49) and 10-of-27 (37.0 percent) from beyond the arc, including making 5-of-7 at the start of the contest.
Illinois State returns to action on Thursday, February 18 when the team travels to Peoria, Illinois, to take on the Bradley Braves in a recently moved game date, along with a 6 p.m. tip-off at Carver Arena.
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