CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois held Indiana State to its season-low in points during a 63-55 loss Wednesday night at the Banterra Center in Carbondale. ISU scored just 24 points in the second half after trailing 32-31 at the break, falling to 8-9 on the season and 1-4 in Missouri Valley Conference action.
 
Xavier Bledson led all scorers with 21 points, including 17 in the first half alone to tie his career high. Simon Wilbar was the only other Sycamore to score in double-digits with 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Julian Larry scored six points and led the Sycamores with eight rebounds. 
 
ISU was without its second-leading scorer in Cameron Henry as the redshirt junior sat out due to an ankle sprain.
 
First Half
Bledson put on a show in the first 20 minutes of action in Carbondale, scoring 17 of Indiana State's 31 points. The guard was 7-for-11 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. The Sycamores jumped out to a 13-10 lead eight minutes into action with Bledson accounting for seven of those points.
 
ISU used a 7-0 run to take a five-point lead before Southern Illinois (10-8, 3-3 MVC) answered with an 8-2 run to close the gap. ISU looked to take at least a one-point lead into the locker room as the Sycamores drew up a final play before a turnover led to the Salukis getting a layup in transition to claim the 32-21 halftime lead.
 
Second Half
After the Sycamores scored the first six points of the second half, SIU used a 9-2 run over the next 4:45 to take a 41-38 lead. Zach Hobbs ended a three-minute scoreless stretch for ISU with a 3-pointer on the wing off an offensive rebound from Kailex Stephens.
 
Momentum went against the Sycamores when Micah Thomas was called out of bounds in the corner after making a 3-pointer that would have put ISU back in front -- a call that sparked 17-7 run to end the game for the Salukis.
 
During the final six minutes, ISU shot 1-for-6 from the field and turned the ball over three times. Steven Verplancken and Lance Jones tallied six points apiece during the final stretch.
 
Inside the Stats

• The 21-point outburst from Bledson was the sixth time the guard has scored 15 points or more and the second 20+ point scoring performance of the season.
• Cooper Neese led ISU with five assists while Bledson and Larry dished out three each.
• Larry drew the defensive assignment of Marcus Domask, holding the All-MVC player to eight points on 2-for-9 shooting.
• ISU was held to 40.4 percent shooting (21-52) from the field and 32 percent (8-25) from behind the arc while ISU shot 41.4 percent (24-58) from the floor.
• Lance Jones led the Salukis with 14 points on 5-for-15 from the floor. Verplancken added 12 while Dalton Banks rounded out the double-digit scorers for SIU with 11.

 
UP NEXT
The Sycamores play host to Valparaiso Saturday, January 22 at Hulman Center. The game is ISU's Blackout Cancer game and will tip at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN Plus. To bid on a game-worn jersey benefiting the Rich and Robin Porter Cancer Research Center, click HERE.
 
For the latest information on Sycamore Basketball, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
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