Southern Illinois University
11-4,3-1MVC
Illinois State
8-7,2-2MVC
Recap | Salukis Pick Up Road Win Over Illinois State to Move to 3-1 in Valley Play
01/06/2024 | 8:26:00 | Men's Basketball
NORMAL, Ill. – Trent Brown had a career game as Southern Illinois went on the road and secured a 71-64 road win over Illinois State Saturday night at CEFCU Arena. With the win the Salukis earned their fifth-straight win and moved to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in Missouri Valley Conference action.
A pure sharpshooter, Brown connected on a career-high six threes in the win, going 6-for-7 from behind the arc in the game. Brown also dished out two assists and grabbed two rebounds in 39 minutes. Xavier Johnson led all scorers with 26 points and a team-high nine assists to go with five rebounds. The duo combined for 10 of SIU's 11 3-pointers in the win.
Johnson hit the first two shots of the game for the Salukis – a pair of long 3-pointers to get the Dawgs going offensively but Illinois State answered on their end of the floor, especially at the rim. Rebounding was key early as Illinois State (8-7, 2-2 MVC) was able to generate six points off four offensive boards before the first media break. All 10 of the Redbird points came in the paint in the stretch.
Southern went into the locker room with a 31-29 lead after trailing by as many as five points in the opening frame. Brown put up 11 first-half points to lead all players, including 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc.
The Salukis would need to battle through foul trouble in the first half as Clarence Rupert had three and Johnson had two. Despite picking up his second foul with seven minutes remaining, Johnson was still able to score 10 points while dishing out five of SIU's nine assists in the first half.
It was a 9-4 run to start the second half as Johnson nailed a back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers for the Salukis to extend the lead to six points at 39-33 – SIU's biggest of the night at the time.
Illinois State would begin to chip away at the lead though as Southern would turn the ball over four times over the next two minutes. The Redbirds would rally to pull within two points before the Salukis picked up back-to-back triples from Jarrett Hensley and Brown to take a 49-41 lead with 11 minutes left to play.
It was a 17-7 run that forced the Redbirds to use a timeout with 8:05 left to play. Brown tied a career-high with his fifth 3-pointer of the game before AJ Ferguson finished at the rim to extend the lead to 58-48 prior to the called timeout. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native would surpass his career high with his sixth three 30 seconds later.
Illinois State would make it interesting as the Redbirds reeled off an 8-0 run to make it a 63-59 SIU lead with 3:16 left. Johnson would snap the scoring run with a pair of free throws before Southern was able to close the game out.
Hensley was strong for the Salukis, scoring seven of his nine points in the final 20 minutes.
SIU shot 53 percent from the field (25-47) and 52 percent (11-21) from deep. The Salukis held Illinois State to just 3-for-18 shooting from behind the arc, including an 0-for-8 mark in the first half.
Myles Foster led the Redbirds with 17 points while Kendal Lewis added 16.
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois travels to Valparaiso for a Wednesday contest with the Beacons. Tip is set for 7 p.m. from the ARC.
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