The last time Kyle Runyan faced the SIUC men’s basketball team, he had little reason to venture inside the three-point arc.

Coming off the bench, Runyan, a 6-foot-5 freshman guard for the University of Evansville, knocked down seven of 10 three-point field goals attempts in a 82-72 win at SIU Arena Wednesday. As a team, the Purple Aces connected on 14 shots from beyond the arc.

For tonight’s rematch at Evansville, SIUC coach Rich Herrin has plans to alter the team’s defensive strategies to avoid another three-point barrage.

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The Aces come into the game with a record of 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Herrin admits to focusing Wednesday on stopping the Purple Aces’ top two scorers, Marcus Wilson and Chris Hollender. However, Evansville had four players in double-figures and five connect on at least one three-point basket in their last meeting.

We’ve got to stop the other people, and we didn’t stop the other people, Herrin said. The big thing [tonight] is that we’ve got to get out and cover the other players.

But the lack of preparation time between matchups concerns Herrin. The Salukis are playing for the third time in a week and have only had three days of practice.

We’re not going to be able change many things, especially when you’ve only got one day to prepare for Illinois State, and you’ve got one day to prepare for Evansville, Herrin said. Times are coming fast, so as far as changing anything it’s going to be pretty tough.

Defense has been a problem during the Salukis two-game losing skid. The Salukis allowed Illinois State University to connect on 61 percent of its shots, compared to their own 32 percent.

Herrin said his team cannot let poor execution on offense affect its defensive play.

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When you falter on the offensive end, you can’t let that bother your defensive play or your rebounding play, Herrin said. You’re not going to be successful on the offensive end all the times, but you can defensively.

Saluki forward Derrick Tilmon said the team needs to be more vocal on defense in order to cut down on the number of uncontested shots.

Basically, we weren’t communicating, and that’s how [Evansville] got a lot of open shots, the 6-foot-7 sophomore said. I think we should talk a little more and let everybody know who we’ve got.

On the offensive end, the Salukis’ top three scorers have not produced lately. Rashad Tucker, Shane Hawkins and Monte Jenkins all have struggled during the two-game skid. In the last game against the Aces, the three combined to shoot 12-for-51 from the floor.

In that game, the Salukis grabbed 35 offensive boards, but failed to capitalize on the opportunities.

We’ve got to get the ball in the basket because you don’t get any points if you don’t put it down, Herrin said. We rebounded very good, but you still don’t get points if you don’t get it through the net.

Jenkins, who failed to score from the field against Illinois State, said he needs to put the worst behind him.

Every night you’re not going to hit six out of seven shots or six out of eight shots, Jenkins said. You can’t look back and just say we lost because next time they’re going to come and do the same thing.