CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - Duane Gibson had 27 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Evansville’s starters had at least nine points in a 75-70 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday.
Evansville has won three in a row and four straight in Carbondale.
The Purple Aces led 61-49 with 3:06 left, but it was cut to six points with 1:12 to go after the Salukis’ 8-2 run. It was a three-point lead twice in the final nine seconds but Jaylon Brown made 4 of 4 free throws as Evansville held on.
Gibson and fellow starters Brown (14), Ryan Taylor (13), David Howard (12) and Christian Benzon (9) scored all of the points for Evansville (13-14, 4-10 Missouri Valley), which is tied for last in conference play. Gibson scored 10 points in the first half as all five starters had at least six points.
Leo Vincent hit five of his team’s six 3-pointers and scored 21 points for Southern Illinois (14-13, 7-7). Sean O’Brien added 18 points with 13 rebounds.
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