CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Sycamores came roaring back in the second half and drew within a possession in the final minute but Southern Illinois held on for an 82-77 victory inside SIU Arena.

ISU fell to 10-11, 5-4 MVC while SIU improved to 13-9. 5-4 MVC.

Jordan Barnes led the way with 23 points as he hit four 3-pointers in the game to give him 81 for the season, just 11 behind Michael Menser's school record. Brenton Scott added 16 points as he did most his damage driving to to the lane. Qiydar Davis finished with 12 points and Devin Thomas came off the bench to score 11 points.

Indiana State owned a 37-31 edge on the glass, powered by eight rebounds from Brandon Murphy. ISU hit 18-of-35 in the second half (51.4 percent) and were 31-of-66 for the game (47 percent). The Sycamores were up 44-32 in the paint and had a 12-0 cushion on second chance points.

Trailing by 12 at the half, Murphy found Qiydar Davis open for a lay-up and then Scott grabbed a steal and raced for the fast break bucket as Indiana State cut the SIU lead down 41-33 just a minute after the break. Jordan Barnes, who rode out some early foul trouble, drained a 3-pointer with 16:46 on the clock to make it 10 of the first 13 in the second half to cut the Saluki edge down to 44-39.

Southern Illinois took a 10-point advantage on a Sean Lloyd fast break, but Barnes answered with his 80th 3-pointer of the season and then after a steal, Devin Thomas hammered one home from point blank range to get ISU within 53-48 with 13:06 remaining. Devin Thomas went into double figures scoring as the clock ticked towards the nine minute mark with a second chance bucket which once again trimmed the SIU advantage down to five points at 60-55. The Sycamores would get it down to five points once more before the Salukis went on a 7-0 run to open up a 64-52 cushion with 7:35 remaining.

Barnes hit his fourth trey of the game in transition and then converted a conventional 3-point play with 2:45 remaining which once again got the Sycamores within five points at 71-66. After the Salukis hit 1-of-2 at the free throw line, Scott buried a trifecta with 1:40 remaining which got the Sycamores within 74-70. Qiydar Davis came down with a huge defensive rebound and off the Key missed 3-pointer, Murphy grabbed the offensive rebound and went back up for the dunk to get ISU within two points and one minute to go.

SIU answered with lay-up from Armon Fletcher with 33 seconds remaining but Barnes countered with a pair of free throws to keep the difference at 2 points. But the Salukis would hit their charity tosses down the stretch to escape with an 82-77 victory.

Jordan Barnes drained his 78th 3-pointer of the season a minute and a half into the contest which put the Sycamores ahead 7-2. The Salukis would take a momentary 12-10 advantage before Indiana State countered with a 6-0 run capped by a second chance bucket from Bronson Kessinger for the 16-12 lead. The Salukis snuck back ahead by a point before Brenton Scott went on a personal 4-0 run to edge the Sycamores back on top 20-17. After SIU took a 23-20 lead, Devin Thomas drained a lay-up and with the foul for a conventional 3-point play at the 7:25 mark which tied the game at 23.

The Salukis would take a 33-25 lead on the strength of an 8-0 run before Tyreke Key's second chance jumper with 3;43 on the clock cut the Southern Illinois advantage down to six points. With 2:45 left before the break, Brandon Murphy grabbed a tough rebound and Qiydar Davis drove in for a lay-up to cut the deficit down to 35-29. Southern Illinois would score the final six points of the first half to take a 41-29 advantage into the break. Brenton Scott led the way with seven points while Murphy added five boards.

Indiana State heads back to Hulman Center when they host Bradley and begin the second half of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule. Tip-off is set for 2 pm (ET). As they did tonight, the Sycamore coaching staff will be wearing Suits & Sneakers in support of Coaches vs. Cancer and the American Cancer Society during the game.