CARBONDALE, Ill. ? Indiana State headed to Southern Illinois in
search of its fourth straight win and the team's first at SIU since 2006. The Sycamores (8-19, 6-10 MVC) got another 20
point effort from senior Jay Tunnell and picked up their fourth road win in
Missouri Valley Conference play with a 78-72 win over the Salukis (11-16, 6-10
MVC) at SIU Arena.
The
Salukis came out firing and took a 17-10 lead at the 14:18 mark of the first half after a jumper by Anthony
Booker. Jordan Printy answered with a
three-pointer to cut the lead to four points, but Kevin Dillard hit his third
trey of the half to put the Salukis back up by seven points at 20-13 with 13:25
left in the first half of play.
SIU's
lead would later grow to eight points at 24-16 after two free throws from Tony Boyle, but the Sycamores
answered with an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the game. A three-pointer by Aaron Carter kick started
the run and back-to-back jumpers from Jay Tunnell and Rashad Reed lead cut the
SIU lead to one. Harry Marshall gave the
Sycamores the lead at the 7:17
mark with a layup and a tip dunk by Josh Crawford capped off the run in style
for ISU.
SIU
scored four quick points to regain the lead at 28-27, but Crawford answered
with a jumper to give the Sycamores the lead back at 29-28. A free throw from Justin Bocot and a dunk by
Booker put the Salukis up 31-29 with 4:20
left to go in the half. However, Tunnell
answered with a three pointer to give the Sycamores a 31-31 advantage.
SIU
would later regain the lead at 35-34 with just over two minutes left in the
half before another three pointer from Tunnell gave the Sycamores a 37-35
lead. ISU would extend that lead to
seven points after a three from Printy and a jumper by Marshall, but a desperation three pointer at the buzzer by
Carlton Fay cut the ISU lead to 42-38 at the half.
The
Sycamores came out of the locker room in control and took a 16 point lead at
59-53 after another three from Tunnell with 13:54 left in the game.
ISU maintained the 16-point advantage at the 12:45 mark after two free throws from Reed.
The
Salukis began to claw back into the game from that point, as they put together
a 10-1 run to cut the ISU lead to 62-56 with just over eight minutes remaining
in the game. The Sycamores rallied and
took a 10-point lead after a layup by Reed with 5:27 left in the game.
The
two teams traded free throws over the next three minutes and Southern Illinois crept to within four points at 76-72 after a three
pointer by Bocot with 20 seconds remaining.
ISU maintained its composure and Reed hit two free throws to ice the
78-72 victory for the Sycamores and give them their fourth straight win.
Tunnell
led a quartet of Sycamores in double figures with 20 points, including a
4-for-7 effort from three point range.
The 20 point effort was Tunnell's third in his last four games. Reed finished with 15 points, including a
7-for-8 effort from the free throw line, and Marshall finished with 14 points and six assists. Printy rounded out the balanced scoring
effort with 13 points, while shooting 4-for-5 from three point range.
Indiana State returns home to face off against Toledo in the annual ESPNU BracketBusters series on
Saturday. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. EST on Nellie & John Wooden Court at Hulman Center.
