One week after beating SIUC 86-76 in Peoria and one year after pulling out a miraculous 55-53 win over the Salukis on a 30-foot bank shot at the buzzer, Bradley pushed SIUC to the edge in search of a third straight win over the Salukis.

But SIUC had the answer this time. Sophomore forward Chris Thunell made his claim for becoming the Salukis’ next standout by nailing two free throws for two of his game-high 24 points to give SIUC a 68-64 lead with 8.4 seconds left.

Bradley would not roll over as senior forward Adebayo Akinkunle dunked to bring the Braves within two at 68-66 with two seconds left. But Saluki senior guard Shane Hawkins showed he was not quite ready to hand over the team’s leadership role and buried two free throws to give SIUC a key 70-66 win.

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We’ve been in this situation a lot, Hawkins said. We’ve had several close games where it’s come down to the last couple of seconds, and we’ve somehow found a way to lose it. But we were able to make the free throws down the stretch, and that’s something that we’ve got to do.

The win could not have come at a better time for the Salukis. SIUC improved to 13-14 overall and 8-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Salukis moved into a seventh-place tie in conference play with Bradley (12-13, 8-9) heading into the conference finale tonight against Wichita State University.

A win over Wichita State would almost assure the Salukis of seventh place in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, which begins Friday in St. Louis. Losses by Bradley and sixth-place Indiana State University tonight could even move SIUC into the sixth spot, which would prevent them from having to play until Saturday.

After being outrebounded 45-32 in the Feb. 14 loss to Bradley, the Salukis took advantage of two Braves injuries and dominated the backboards Saturday night. SIUC used the absences of sophomore forwards Matt Moran (broken hand) and Ed Cage (broken wrist) to control the tempo of the game and score on several breakaway layups.

The key to the game was rebounding, Bradley coach Jim Molinari said. We couldn’t rebound the basketball against them, so they deserved to win. They played extremely hard on the boards.

After taking a narrow 33-32 lead into the locker room at halftime, SIUC opened the lead to 48-40 with 13:53 remaining. But Bradley hung tough on the play of Akinkunle, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half. The Braves cut the Saluki lead to 59-58 on a basket by sophomore Eric Roberson with five minutes left.

Both teams traded baskets until the end as Thunell capped off one of his best performances of the season. Although Hawkins made just 3 of 11 field goals on the night, his three three-pointers and two big free throws gave him 11 for the night.

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SIUC coach Rich Herrin was most pleased with his team’s ability to win the war on the backboards.

We beat them on the boards, and last time they really annihilated us on the boards, Herrin said. We’re not a great team by any means, but this was a good victory to start us in the right direction.

SIUC now turns its attention to Wichita State, who has wrapped up the league’s fifth spot in the tournament at 10-7 in league play and 14-14 overall. Tonight’s game is not only the Salukis’ final regular-season game but also the last home game for seniors Rashad Tucker and Hawkins.

Tucker, who poured in 13 points and grabbed six rebounds against the Braves, said the Salukis must continue to dominate in rebounding to make his final game at SIU Arena truly worth remembering.

We knew all along we were a better rebounding team, Tucker said. So, we just tried to come in and prove it, and that’s what we did.

It’s a time that I didn’t want to see come, but it comes for every player. I’m just going to try to play hard and do my best.

SIUC battles Wichita State University tonight at 7:05 for Senior Night at SIU Arena.

The game can be heard on WXLT 95.1 FM or at http://www.siu.edu/~athletic.