CARBONDALE, Ill. ? Indiana State headed into Tuesday night's game at Southern Illinois looking to earn a season sweep over SIU, after earning a double-overtime win at the Hulman Center earlier this season. However, the Sycamores (10-12, 5-7 MVC) maintain a halftime lead and eventually fell to the Salukis (12-11, 7-5 MVC) in front of 4,311 fans at SIU Arena.
ISU took an early 2-0 lead after a layup by junior Jay Tunnell. But, SIU came right back and scored the next eight straight points to gain an 8-2 early in the game. The Salukis would eventually widen that lead to eight points at 15-7 with 12:32 left to play on a layup by Matt Shaw.
SIU maintained its lead and led 21-12 with 7:55 left in the half after a made free throw by Tyrone Green. However, the Sycamores cut the lead to five points on just one play, as sophomore Marico Stinson was fouled as he made a three-pointer and then hit his free throw attempt to cut the lead to 21-16 with 7:39 left on the clock. Soon after, though, the game was stopped due to inclement weather conditions in Carbondale and both teams returned to the locker room early.
When the teams returned to the court, it was ISU who scored first on a three-pointer by Stinson to cut the SIU lead to two points at 21-19. The lead was then cut to just one point at 21-20 after a free throw by sophomore Harry Marshall with 5:59 left to play in the half. The Salukis then scored the next five points to take a 26-20 lead, which was capped off by a three-pointer by Shaw.
Southern Illinois maintained a small lead after a free throw by Randal Falker made the score 27-24, but two free throws from ISU's Isiah Martin cut the lead to one point at 27-26 with 3:00 minutes left in the half. After another free throw by Falker made the score 28-26, a perfectly-timed backdoor reverse layup by Marshall from senior Gabe Moore knotted the score at 28-28. After SIU regained the lead at 29-28 after a free throw from Carlton Fay, junior Adam Arnold hit two free throws to give the Sycamores a 30-29 lead with 1:59 left. SIU quickly got the lead back after a jumper by Falker, but a three-pointer by Stinson put the Sycamores up 33-31 with 1:16 left to play. A jumper by Marshall later put ISU up 35-31, before Falker hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the game to halftime with ISU up 35-33.
The Salukis came out firing in the second half and started with a 10-0 run, sparked by six-straight points from Bryan Mullins, to take a 43-35 lead. ISU scored its first points of the half nearly four minutes in, as Moore connected from three-point range to cut the lead to five points. A dunk by Martin followed for the Sycamores and cut the SIU advantage to three points at 43-40.
SIU then went on a 9-1 run to widen its lead to 52-41, before ISU answered with six-straight points to cut the lead to 52-47 on a three-pointer by Stinson with 10:22 left in the game. The Salukis maintained a single-digit lead over the next four minutes and led by six points at 60-54, before a three-point play by Tunnell cut the lead to three points at 60-57 with 5:40 left on the clock. SIU answered with an 11-4 run to widen the lead to 71-61 on a layup by Shaw with 3:09 left. The lead for the Salukis would eventually grow to 14 points at 80-66 with 37 seconds remaining, before Stinson scored the last points of the game on his fifth three-pointer to bring the game to its final at 80-69.
Four Sycamores finished the game in double-figures for the second straight time. Stinson led the way for ISU with 18 points, including five three-pointers and four steals, while Moore added 15 points and six assists. Tunnell and Marshall also wrapped in double figures, with 13 and 11 points respectively. Mullins led all scorers with 22 points for SIU, while Falker recorded a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds in the win.
ISU returns to action on Saturday, February 9, against Wichita State with tip off set for 8:05 p.m.
