Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Indiana State battled tough for most of the game but a second half Southern Illinois run proved to be too much as the Salukis defended their home court with a 79-66 victory over the Sycamores in front of 5,036 fans inside SIU Arena.
The Sycamores fell to 10-9, 4-3 MVC while Southern Illinois improved to 17-3, 6-1 MVC.
Both Devonte Brown and Brenton Scott went into double figures scoring for the seventh time in all seven games of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule. Brown finished with a team-best 26 points while Scott tallied 10 points. The Sycamores hit 47.4 percent of their shots in the first half but were limited to just 8-of-27 shooting after the break and finished the game with a 37.0 mark from the field.
Everett Clemons posted 16 rebounds in the game to set a new career high and it marks the most by a Sycamore in a game since Matt Renn tallied 15 against the Salukis in his last career home game back in 2001. Indiana State owned a 39-29 edge on the glass in the contest. Indiana State recorded 20 turnovers in the game which led to a 23-6 margin in points on turnovers in favor of the Salukis.
It was a strong defensive effort for the Sycamores early on and Brandon Murphy hit a pair of free throws in two of the first three possessions to take a 2-0 advantage. Ibby Djimde knotted it up on a jumper in the paint as the Salukis experienced their first score on their fourth trip down the floor. The bucket started a 9-0 run for the Salukis despite picking up two early fouls for Anthony Beane and Bola Olyanian. Rickman stopped the spurt with a free throw out of the first media timeout to get within 9-3.
The Sycamores hit their first field goal of the game when Devonte Brown nailed a driving lay-up at the 14 minute mark to draw within 13-5. Niels Bunschoten drailed the Sycamores first 3-pointer of the game at the 13:02 mark as the Saluki advantage shrunk to 15-9. After a tough rebound on the baseline for Everett Clemons, Brenton Scott hit a jumper on the other side of the under eight media timeout which cut the Saluki lead down to 25-15.
Southern Illinois stretched their lead out to 13, but the Sycamores got lay-ups from Devonte Brown on consecutive possessions and a foul on a Bunschoten rebound netted two more charity tosses for a 6-0 run which cut the deficit to 30-23 with just over four minutes left in the half. Brown hit a pair of free throws with 2:23 remaining in the half to become the first Sycamore in double figures scoring and get Indiana State within 36-27. Khristian Smith made it four points in a row for the Sycamores with a floater in the lane at the 1:28 mark to make it 38-31 in favor of Southern Illinois.
The Sycamores received a big lift right before the half when Clemons picked up his eighth rebound of the game and kicked out to a wide open Khristian Smith who rattled home a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to send the two teams into the locker room with Indiana State trailing just 40-34. Brown paced the Sycamores in the first half with 10 points as Indiana State hit 47.4 percent of their shots and made 14 free throws.
Indiana State would get a lay-up from Scott less than one minute in but it would be the only point until Murphy converted a free throw at the 16:10 mark to get the Sycamores within 49-39. SIU head coach Barry Hinson was whistled for a technical foul with just over 14 minutes remaining and Brown hit two free throws then converted a lay-up as the Sycamores clawed back within 51-43. Then after a defensive stop, the Sycamores made it six points in a row on a Brown driving lay-up and the Southern Illinois lead was down to just six points. Murphy hit a free throw with 12:54 on the clock to close out seven in a row for the Sycamores and make it 51-46.
The two teams continued their back-and-forth as Anthony Beane recorded his first four points of the game but Brown countered with a long jumper at the 9:25 mark to get back within 57-50. The Sycamores would get within seven points but seven in a row from the Salukis forced Indiana State to call a timeout as SIU stretched the lead out to 65-51.
The Sycamores battled back with a Brown jumper to put him over 20 points and a Smith driving lay-up as the clock ticked towards the five minute mark got Indiana State within 65-55.
Leo Vincent came off the bench to score 18 points for the Salukis while Sean O'Brien added 13. The Salukis hit 47.2 percent of their shots from the field for the game.
Indiana State returns to action on Sunday, January 24 when they host in-state rival Evansville. Tip-off for the game is set for 4:00 p.m. (ET) and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
