Evansville Purple Aces @ Southern Illinois Salukis
S Illinois holds off Evansville 65-63
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Aaron Cook scored 14 points, Armon Fletcher scored 13, including a go-ahead free throw with 25 seconds left, and Southern Illinois beat Evansville 65-63 on Wednesday night for the Purple Aces' fourth straight loss.
Evansville led 46-45 on Blake Simmons' layup with 9:31 to go, then by 53-49 on Ryan Taylor's 3-pointer. Tyler Smithpeters' 3 put SIU back on top 56-55 but the Purple Aces pulled ahead 63-62 on Marty Hill's free throw with 49 seconds left. Fletcher hit two from the line, Sean Lloyd Jr. added another, and Evansville's Dru Smith missed a 3 at the buzzer.
Smithpeters scored 13 points and Lloyd added 12 for the Salukis (10-6, 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference), who made eight 3-pointers and outscored Evansville 13-6 from the free-throw line.
SIU led 32-29 at halftime after both teams shot 50 percent from the field, but the Salukis were 5 of 7 from beyond the arc to Evansville's 1 of 7.
Taylor scored 21 points, Simmons added 13, and Smith and K.J. Riley had 10 apiece for Evansville (10-6, 0-3).
Game Information
Carbondale, IL
Referee:Brad Ferrie
Referee:Bret Smith
Referee:Joe DeRosa
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 |
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