The SIU men’s basketball team lost its third straight game and its 10th in its last 12 tries Saturday night at Missouri State.

Missouri State  (9-13, 3-7) led by double digits for most of the second half, but survived a late push by the Salukis (9-14, 2-8) to snap a seven-game losing streak with a 52-46 victory.

The Bears took a 23-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.

SIU was more successful than the Bears at getting to the free throw line, but they failed to capitalize from there. SIU made only 14 of 26 foul shots on the night.

The Bears led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but the Salukis made a late run to cut the lead to 6. However, time ran out before SIU could catch up to Missouri State.

Freshman forward Jordan Caroline and  and sophomore guard Tyler Smithpeters each scored a game-high 14 points for the Salukis. Junior forward Gavin Thurman paced the Bears with 11 points.

SIU’s plays at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Drake.

Thomas Donley can be reached at [email protected] or at 536-3311 ext. 269.