GAME NOTES: The Southern Illinois Salukis travel to the Hoosier State to take on the Evansville Purple Aces in a Missouri Valley Conference tilt at the Ford Center.

Southern Illinois has won five of its last seven games, including a victory over Bradley on Tuesday night, 75-64. That left the Salukis tied for fourth place in the MVC standings with both Missouri State and Northern Iowa.

Evansville fell to Indiana State on Wednesday night, 59-54, which was the second straight loss for the Purple Aces and their sixth defeat in last seven contests. They sit in eighth place in MVC.

Evansville beat SIU in Carbondale on Jan. 11, snapping a 12-game road losing streak against the Salukis. D.J. Balentine scored 19 of his 33 points in the second half to lead the Purple Aces. At home, Evansville has won the last three meetings with the Salukis. The last time the Purple Aces swept a season series from Southern Illinois was in 1998.

Led by Anthony Beane's 27 points, the Salukis snapped a two-game skid with the win over Bradley. Desmar Jackson added 15 points, Jalen Pendleton scored 11 and Bola Olaniyan posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Trailing 35-33 at the break, the Salukis found their range after the break, knocking down 58.3 percent of their shots from the field in the second half. Trailing by five points in the opening minute of the half, the Salukis used a 10-1 run to take the lead for good, and pulled away down the stretch to secure the win.

Jackson and Beane have been the two go-to players for the Salukis this season. Jackson leads the team with a 19.3 ppg average on 48.5 percent shooting from the field, and he is pulling down a team-high 5.4 rpg as well. His 62 assists are the best on the team this season, and his 67 steals is also a team-high. Beane checks in with 14.1 ppg on 46.7 percent shooting. The Salukis are scoring an even 68 ppg and giving up 67.6 ppg.

Balentine netted 19 points to go with eight assists for Evansville in the recent loss to Indiana State. Egidijus Mockevicius logged a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds in the setback. ISU scored the opening 10 points of the game, but the Purple Aces made their way back, trailing by just five at the half before taking a late 52-51 lead before the Sycamores finished the game on an 8-2 run to come away with the win

Balentine continues to be one of the most aggressive scorers in the MVC and the nation, sporting an average of 22.9 ppg. Not only has Balentine been a fixture at the free-throw line (195-of-226) and knocked down 40.9 percent of his 159 3-point chances, he is also second on the unit with 114 assists. A 62.7 percent shooter from the floor, Mockevicius accounts for another 10.2 ppg and is tops on the glass with 8.1 rpg, yet has a mere eight assists in more than 650 minutes of playing time. Despite scoring a healthy 70.4 ppg, the Purple Aces are giving all that back and more by allowing their opponents to score 73.6 ppg.

The Salukis have been the hotter team of late, and despite the monster season that Balentine is having, the Purple Aces' struggles at the defensive end should give the advantage to the visitors in this particular matchup.