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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The leading rebounder in the Missouri Valley Conference added to his numbers as Egidijus Mockevicius posted 11 more caroms to go along with 19 points, but Anthony Beane posted 22 as Southern Illinois dealt the Purple Aces a 61-56 loss on Saturday evening at the Ford Center.
 
Mockevicius posted his fifth double-double in six games while tying his career-high with points.  Blake Simmons also had a strong outing, posting 11 points, including three triples for the Aces (11-18, 4-12 MVC).  Beane led all players with 22 points on a 8-of-18 shooting night.  Desmar Jackson added 15 while going a perfect 8-8 in the win.
 
The 3's were falling early on for the Salukis (12-17, 8-8 MVC) as they registered the first six points of the contest.  Beane nailed a trey in the opening possession before Tyler Smithpeters added one of his own to give SIU an early 6-0 lead.  Egidijus Mockevicius got the Aces on the board with a dunk at the 3 minute mark, but Sean O'Brien quickly made it a 3-4 start from long range to give Southern Illinois a 9-3 advantage.
 
Evansville would get within four points at 13-9 before the Salukis went on a 12-2 run as they opened up their largest lead of the game at 25-11 inside of eight minutes remaining in the period.  The Aces went 0-4 from the field over that stretch while committing four turnovers.
 
Just as the first part of the half belonged to the Salukis, the final seven minutes saw UE make its run.  Evansville finished the half on a 12-4 run to trail by just six, 29-23, at halftime.  Mockevicius was the Aces' top scorer in the frame, going 4-5 for nine points with five rebounds.
 
Out of the break, the Aces kept the rally going.  Beane started the half with five quick points as the Saluki lead reached nine once again, 36-27.  From there, UE charged back, going on a 12-1 run while hitting six out of ten shots to take their first lead of the day at 39-37.  Blake Simmons tied it up with his first triple of the day before Mockevicius hit his sixth shot of the night to give Evansville its first advantage of the contest.
 
SIU and UE swapped the lead over the next seven minutes with no team leading by more than two.  That changed outside of the 5 minute mark as Bola Olaniyan knocked down a free throw before Beane hit his eight shot of the night to give the Salukis a 52-47 edge.
 
Mockevicius struck again in the final minutes as a layup brought UE within just one at 52-51, but Desmar Jackson calmly stepped to the line and hit all four free throw attempts with just over a minute left as the Saluki lead reached 56-51.  Simmons got the Aces three points closer with a triple inside of the final minute.
 
He got the job done on the inbound, stealing the ball and giving UE a chance to tie it up or take the lead.  Unfortunately, a turnover on the inbound pass led to two more SIU points before they would go on to take the 61-56 victory.  Jackson went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final 1:20 of the game to seal the win.
 
Led by Olaniyan's 11 boards, the Salukis finished with a 45-26 advantage on the boards.  The Aces shot 44.2% for the night while holding SIU to 35.8%.                            
 
A great weekend of action created for a memorable couple of days for those affiliated with UE.  Friday afternoon saw the Jim Byers Pathway to Excellence unveiled before Saturday morning featured the UE Athletics Hall of Fame banquet with seven new members receiving their enshrinement.  At halftime of tonight's game, Scott Haffner became the sixth Ace overall and the first of the Division I era to have his jersey retired.
 
The Aces will complete their home slate on Tuesday against Drake with tip set for 7:05 p.m. at the Ford Center.  UE's regular season wraps up next weekend with a trip to Loyola on March 1 for a 3 p.m. game.