Terre Haute, IN (Sports Network) - Jake Odum had 13 points and banked in the
deciding bucket with 19 seconds remaining, as the Indiana State Sycamores
escaped with a 66-65 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis in Missouri Valley
Conference action at the Hulman Center.
R.J. Mahurin shot 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and finished with 16 points for
the Sycamores (16-8, 9-4 MVC), who were coming off a 19-point win over No. 16
Creighton earlier this week. Khristian Smith tallied 12 points and six
rebounds off the bench in the victory, as he shot 6-of-8 from the floor.
Freshman reserve Jalen Pendleton had a career-high 17 points for the Salukis
(9-15, 2-11), who find themselves back in the loss column after snapping a
six-game skid against Wichita State on Tuesday. Desmar Jackson added 16
points, Dantiel Daniels scored 12, and Anthony Beane finished with 10 off the
bench for the visitors.
SIU raced out to a 13-1 lead to quiet the home crowd. However, Indiana State
weathered the early storm and eventually took a 29-27 lead on Smith's layup
with 2:45 to play until halftime. But the Salukis finished the half strong and
took a 34-31 lead into the break.
The Sycamores had the hot hand in the second half, as they shot a healthy 55.6
percent from the floor (10-of-18) and from 3-point range (5-of-9). Still, SIU
was leading by one in the final minute with a chance to add to the margin when
Beane committed a costly turnover to give the ball back to Indiana State and
set up Odum's go-ahead basket.
The Salukis have now dropped 14 consecutive MVC road games, which is one short
of matching the school record (1982-84).
GAME NOTES:
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