SIU Salukis men’s basketball defeats Illinois State
MARION, Ill. —
QUICKIE GAMER — SIU 71, ILLINOIS STATE 64
SIU did something Saturday night it hadn’t accomplished all season – win a true road game.
Xavier Johnson poured in a game-high 26 points and Trent Brown added 20 as the Salukis held off Illinois State for a 71-64 Missouri Valley Conference win at CEFCU Arena in Normal.
Johnson scored 16 second half points and also tacked on nine assists as SIU upped its record to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the Valley. It was the fifth straight win for the Salukis, which hit 63.6 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point line.
Johnson made a layup on SIU’s first offensive possession of the second half to give it the lead for good. That started a run of eight straight points for him as he followed with consecutive 3-pointers, forcing Redbirds coach Ryan Pedon to use a timeout after Johnson gave the Salukis a 39-33 lead with 18:02 left.
With Johnson scoring and setting up others, SIU opened up a 63-51 lead at the 6:26 mark before Illinois State (8-7, 2-2) got within 63-57. Johnson sandwiched four free throws around a step-back jumper to keep the Redbirds at bay.
AJ Ferguson clinched the win when he stole an inbounds pass and dunked on a breakaway with 13.1 seconds left.
Myles Foster scored 17 points, grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and dished out four assists to lead four Illinois State players in double figures. Kendall Lewis added 16 points and eight rebounds, while former Saluki Dalton Banks contributed 11 points. Malachi Poindexter chipped in 10.
The Redbirds led for most of the first half before Brown’s 3-point shooting propelled SIU into a 31-29 edge at the break. Brown made 4 of 5 from deep, beating the shot clock with one that gave the Salukis a 29-25 advantage.
SIU finished the night at 53 percent from the field, including an impressive 11 of 21 on 3-pointers, and drew 20 assists on its 25 makes. The Salukis also earned a 19-4 advantage in bench points, offsetting Illinois State’s 42-24 cushion in paint points.
SIU won despite getting just two points each from starting forwards Clarence Rupert and Troy D’Amico, who each found first half foul trouble. But Rupert did grab a team-high seven rebounds.
SALUKI SCRIBBLES
Leading the bench brigade was Jarrett Hensley, who scored nine points in 18 minutes while chipping in three rebounds. … Ferguson is becoming a virtual starter in the wing spot that freshman Kennard Davis took over in late November after a stress fracture in his foot sidelined Ferguson for seven games. Davis played just 11 minutes and Ferguson was in for 29. … SIU travels to Valparaiso at 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 10th.
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