The SIUC men’s basketball team beat the University of Evansville for 32 minutes Monday night. But the Purple Aces won the other eight minutes at the free throw line and the game.

The Salukis appeared to have solved their problems in its recent two-game losing streak in taking a nine-point second half lead. But Evansville took advantage of an eight-minute SIUC scoring drought and outscored the Salukis 33-13 at the free throw line in earning a 77-69 win at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind.

The win improved Evansville’s record to 11-6 overall and 6-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIUC dropped its third straight game, falling to 7-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

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It’s pretty tough to win a basketball game when they shoot twice as many free throws as you do, Saluki head coach Rich Herrin said in his postgame radio show. They shot 41 and we shot 21. We really work on not hand checking and not fouling, but it’s tough to overcome.

Kyle Runyan once again keyed the Aces’ attack with a career-high 25 points. Runyan scored 23 points and made seven three-pointers in an 82-72 win over SIUC Wednesday.

After a solid first half, Saluki senior forward Rashad Tucker sparked a hot start for the second half as SIUC took a 56-47 lead with 14 minutes left.

But SIUC went frigid from the field and failed to get the ball in the hands of Tucker. With a 61-57 lead in hand, the Salukis scored just two points in eight minutes until senior guard Shane Hawkins hit a layup to draw within 67-65 with 3:35 left.

The Salukis had their chances down the stretch, but Runyan and teammate Chris Hollender hit six free throws for the eight-point margin.

After a disappointing 105-70 loss to Illinois State University Saturday night, the Salukis appeared to have stopped the bleeding in the first half against the Aces. Hawkins keyed a Saluki run with six points to give SIUC a 29-19 lead with six minutes remaining. But Runyan stepped up and nailed another long three as the Aces used a 13-2 run to take a 32-31 lead.

Both teams traded baskets until the first half’s final seconds, when junior forward Monte Jenkins found Tucker on the right baseline for a fadeaway three-pointer to give SIUC a 40-39 lead heading into the locker room.

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Tucker finished the half with 12 points, followed closely by Hawkins with 10. SIUC outrebounded Evansville 19-16 and made three more field goals than the Aces in the first half, but Evansville hung close by making all 13 of its free throw attempts.

We outscored them 24-19 from the field, but we lost the game and that’s kind of disappointing, Herrin said. We had an opportunity to win the basketball game tonight, we just had the crucial mistakes.

The Salukis play host to Southwest Missouri State University at 7:05 p.m. Thursday at SIU Arena.