CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Indiana State football snapped a 14-game losing streak in Missouri Valley Football Conference play Saturday when the Sycamores defeated Southern Illinois, 24-21 to spoil the Salukis' Homecoming. Indiana State improved to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in MVFC action while SIU dropped its sixth-straight game falling to 1-6 and 0-4 in The Valley.
 
With the victory, the Sycamores improved to 4-1 all-time inside Saluki Stadium and have won four straight in Carbondale dating back to 2012. The win also marked a milestone for Curt Mallory as the second-year ball coach earned his first career MVFC win.
 
Redshirt junior Ryan Boyle and senior Ja'Quan Keys each put together terrific performances on the ground as the Sycamores racked up 293 yards rushing. Boyle ran for a career high 104 yards, including a 52-yard rush in the third quarter.
 
Keys, a Hammond, Louisiana native, put up 156 yards on the ground and ran in a pair of touchdowns in the win. It marked the third-straight 100+ yard outing and the fifth multiple score game for the Perry Meridian High School alum.
 
Along with his rushing yards, Boyle also passed for 101 yards on 7-of-14 through the air -- his sixth-straight 100+ yard passing performance.
 
The Sycamores were led defensively by redshirt senior linebacker Katrell Moss who finished with a game high 16 tackles -- 13 solo stops -- and one tackle-for-loss. Jonas Griffith added 11 solo tackles in the game for his fifth-straight double-digit tackle game. Tyreeon Hambright snagged his first career interception in a Sycamore uniform in the second quarter as the Salukis drove all the way into the red zone. Hambright returned the pick 39 yards.
 
Overall, Southern Illinois outgained the Sycamores 459 to 394 with SIU holding a one-yard advantage in the rushing attack, 294-293. SIU did pick up 28 first downs while the Sycamores had 22 in the game. ISU converted three of their 11 third downs while going 1-for-1 on fourth down. The Sycamores did not convert a third down in the second half after going 3-for-5 in the first half.
 
Southern opened the game with an 81-yard drive that was capped off by Matt DeSomer's four-yard scamper into the end zone to go on top early.
 
It didn't take long for the Sycamores to answer as ISU ran 10 plays and covered 71 yards on their first offensive series. Keys would reach the goal line on a three-yard rush for his first score of the day to tie the game.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair in the second quarter until the end when the Sycamore defense held strong and forced a Saluki turnover after SIU went for it and was stopped short on fourth-and-one on the Sycamore 16 yard-line. Boyle found wide receiver Dante Hendrix for 44 yards -- one of his three receptions of the afternoon -- on the drive to put the Trees at the SIU 11-yard line. Boyle rushed for eight yards before Keys capped off the drive with his second score of the day to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.
 
Indiana State came out of the locker room at halftime and received the ball, and it didn't take long for the late second quarter momentum to show again as SIU punched the ball down the field, eventually finding the end zone on sophomore Titus McCoy's seven-yard rush to extend ISU's lead to 21-7.
 
Jerry Nunez added a 20-yard field goal late in the third quarter to make it 24-7 in favor of the Sycamores.
 
The Saluki offense came to life early in the fourth quarter, sparked by solid special teams play as SIU managed to block two field goals in the game. DeSomer capped off an eight-play drive with a slant route touchdown to Darrell James with 8:08 remaining to close the gap to 24-14 for SIU.
 
Southern would score again with 2:23 left in the game as Jonathon Mixon ran in a 12-yard touchdown. The Sycamores would recover the onside kick from the Salukis but would not convert a first down allowing SIU to regain possession of the ball with 0:32 seconds in regulation.
 
Travis Reiner pinned the Salukis at their own 14-yard line following the punt. After using his legs to convert a pair of first downs, DeSomer and the Salukis threw deep down the sideline with just two seconds remaining but Denzel Bonner batted the ball down to secure the Sycamore victory.
 
Indiana State continues road swing next weekend at Youngstown State. The Sycamores and Penguin are set to kickoff from Stambaugh Stadium at 2 p.m. ET.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.