Illinois State Redbirds @ Southern Illinois Salukis
Illinois State 5-0 in MVC; beats Southern Illinois 60-53
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- DJ Clayton scored 13 points and Deontae Hawkins had 11 as Illinois State beat Southern Illinois 60-53 on Wednesday night to remain undefeated in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Paris Lee added 10 points for Illinois State (13-4, 5-0), which has won six straight and is tied with Wichita State (15-3, 5-0) atop the conference.
The Redbirds opened the second half on a 22-11 run for a 50-44 lead with about eight minutes to play. The game was then scoreless until Phil Fayne's dunk stretched the lead to 52-44 with 5:34 left.
Mike Rodriguez made a layup and Sean O'Brien added a jump shot to pull the Salukis to 52-48 with four minutes left, but they didn't get closer.
O'Brien had 15 points and Armon Fletcher 12 for Southern Illinois (10-8, 3-2), which had its three-game win streak snapped.
Game Information
Carbondale, IL
Referee:Winston Stith
Referee:Jeb Hartness
Referee:Brad Gaston
2025-26 Standings
| Missouri Valley ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 16-4 | - | 26-6 |
| Bradley | 13-7 | 3 | 21-13 |
| Illinois State | 12-8 | 4 | 23-13 |
| Murray State | 12-8 | 4 | 20-13 |
| UIC | 12-8 | 4 | 19-16 |
| Northern Iowa | 11-9 | 5 | 23-13 |
| Valparaiso | 11-9 | 5 | 18-15 |
| Southern Illinois | 10-10 | 6 | 16-16 |
| Drake | 6-14 | 10 | 14-20 |
| Indiana State | 4-16 | 12 | 11-21 |
| Evansville | 3-17 | 13 | 7-25 |




