The SIU men’s basketball team won in St. Louis 65-55 Monday night.

This was the Salukis (11-2) first win against SLU (5-6) since 2008, and the first in St. Louis since 2001.

Senior guard Anthony Beane, the No. 25 ranked scorer in the country, opened up scoring 55 seconds into the game with a three-point basket. He finished the game one point shy of his 20 point per game average.

The Salukis have had troubles at the free throw line this year, ranked No. 162 in the country and shooting 68 percent from the charity stripe. They started the game four-for-four from the line and finished the half six-for-seven.

A layup by SLU’s junior forward Reggie Agbeko at the 9:48 mark gave SLU its first lead of the ball game. 

Beane hit a three-point shot 40 seconds later to give SIU the lead right back.

SLU’s sophomore guard Davell Roby hit the Billikens first three-pointer with 7:49 to play in the first half. They finished the game eight-for-22 from behind the arc.

SLU scored 7 points in :48 to take a 28-22 lead with 4:42 remaining in the half. They held the lead for 10 minutes, which carried over into the second half.

Junior guard Leo Vincent scored on an acrobatic layup to pull the Salukis with in five — capping a 6-0 run in just more than a minute with 2 minutes left to play in the half. 

The Salukis converted four of their last five field goal attempts, but trailed 33-31 at halftime.

Junior guard Tyler Smithpeters is the Salukis’ most efficient three-point shooter this season, shooting 50 percent. He did not have a field goal attempt in his eight minutes of first half playing time, and finished the game without a point.

SIU missed its first six field goal attempts to start the second half. Junior forward Sean O’Brien’s layup 3:12 into the half shortened the Billikens lead to two.

A three-pointer by freshman guard Armon Fletcher gave the Salukis their first lead of the half with 15:23 left to play.

SLU went more than four minutes without scoring a point after senior guard Ash Yacoubou made a jump shot 1:32 into the half. SIU went on a 7-0 run in that time.

Four Billikin turnovers in three minutes near the halfway mark in the second half put the Salukis up six, 47-41, with 9:30 left.

SLU finished the second half with more turnovers than field goals. They went 6-18 and committed nine turnovers.

O’Brien checked out of the game with four fouls. At 7:14 remaining, he had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks. He returned with 3:33 remaining when the Salukis led 56-46.

A three-point basket from junior guard Mike Rodriguez with 2:26 left in the game put the Salukis up 61-48 and gave them their largest lead of the game.

The Salukis hit five of their last seven field goals, and finished the game shooting 35 percent. Their 65 points was the lowest amount scored in a game by SIU this season.

SIU plays its next game against Loyola at 7 p.m. Dec. 30 in Chicago.

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EvanJones_DE