CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois utilized a 22-0 first half run to finish with an 86-60 victory over the University of Evansville men's basketball team on Thursday evening at the Banterra Center.

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Box Score

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Evansville rallied in the opening half with a 23-6 run to close the gap to single digits before the Salukis fended off a rally in the latter half to finish with the victory. Bryce Quinet led the way for UE with 20 points while Josh Hughes scored 14. Quinet's scoring tally matched his career high, which came against Bradley in January. AJ Casey added seven points and a game-high nine boards. All five SIU starters scored in double figures with Rolyns Aligbe recording 18 points.
 
"Southern Illinois came out and hit some threes to take a big lead but I am proud of how we responded at that time. Our guys hit some big shots and fought back," UE head coach David Ragland said. "I give our group a lot of credit for how they continued fighting but it was one of those nights where SIU was able to hit their shots and fight off every challenge we made."
 
Significant runs by both teams highlighted the first half of play. Bryce Quinet hit the first two shots of the night for the Purple Aces giving them a 4-3 lead. Josh Hughes hit UE's first 3-pointer of the evening to solidify a 7-5 lead before the Salukis knocked down consecutive triples to take their first lead at 11-7 five minutes in.
 
After Leif Moeller's first field goal of the night made it an 11-9 game, Southern Illinois reeled off 22 points in a row to take a 33-9 lead with nine minutes remaining in the half. SIU hit eight shots in a row at one point while holding the Aces scoreless for a stretch of almost seven minutes.
 
Kaia Berridge got Evansville back on track with a triple that helped his squad get back in the game. Over the next six minutes, the Aces outscored the Salukis by a 23-6 margin to get back within seven points at the 2:14 mark. Quinet added five points during the run while Alex Hemenway connected on a pair of 3-pointers including the one which capped off the stretch.
 
Southern Illinois posted the final four points of the half to take a 43-32 edge at the break. Both teams shot well in the period with SIU finishing at 51.6% and UE hitting 50.0% of its attempts. Quinet had nine tallies in the opening period for UE.
 
Out of the half, SIU hit its first two attempts to go back up by 15. Hughes connected from downtown to cut back into the deficit before the Salukis extended the lead back to 21 points – 56-35 – with 14:26 remaining. Southern Illinois held a 62-42 lead heading into the final 12 minutes when the Aces made another rally.
 
Holding SIU to six consecutive missed baskets, UE scored eight in a row to make it a 12-point game. Trent Hundley completed the run with a triple at the 7:50 mark. Seven in a row by SIU pushed the lead to 19 points and the advantage would reach a game-high of 28 points in the final minute before basket at the final second finalized an 86-60 final.
 
The Salukis shot 52.3% in the win while the Aces shot 40.7%. SIU out-rebounded UE by a final tally of 40-25 while scoring 48 points in the paint. UE will be back inside the Ford Center on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to face UIC.