Rashad Tucker and the SIUC men’s basketball team only needed full-court pressure defense to jump start a sputtering offense Thursday night at SIU Arena.

Tucker took advantage of the Salukis’ solid defensive play in the final six minutes of the first half by scoring eight of his team-high 21 points in a 16-2 run. SIUC used that run to take a 29-21 lead into halftime and opened up the lead in the second half for an 81-62 win over Southeast Missouri State University.

The win improved the Salukis’ record to 3-4 on the year in front of a crowd of 2,852. SEMO fell to 4-3.

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SIUC coach Rich Herrin said the decision to go to the full-court press was one worth gamble on.

We beat a very good basketball team, Herrin said. I thought our defense was really good to us early. When we stepped our defense up and went to the full-court pressure, we were able to get a steal for the first time, and that gives you some momentum.

Trailing 19-13 with six minutes remaining, Tucker cracked the scoring column with two free throws that spurred the run. The Salukis took advantage of the run in the second half by shooting 59 percent from the field in pulling away for the 19-point win.

Tucker was joined in the Salukis’ scoring column by sophomore forward Chris Thunell, who poured in 16 points. Junior guard Monte Jenkins added 14, while junior forward James Jackson chipped in 10 points and led the Salukis with 14 rebounds.

SEMO was led by center William Bud Eley, who poured in a game-high 24 points. Junior guard Kahn Cotton added 16 for the Indians, while fellow junior guard Cory Johnson had 12.

Both teams started with a sloppy effort in the first half before the Salukis opened the gap shortly before halftime. SIUC shot 38 percent from the field, while SEMO made just 8 of 32 shots for 25 percent.

In the second half, the Salukis dominated the backboards, outrebounding SEMO 20-7 and taking advantage of several open-court layups from Tucker.

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For the game, SIUC outrebounded SEMO 45-28. Thunell and Tucker added seven rebounds apiece to go along with Jackson’s 12. Eley, SEMO’s 6-foot-10 senior center, was held to seven rebounds for the night.

He (Eley) could have 44 (points) as long as he doesn’t get more than points than we do, Herrin said. We tried to keep him off the boards, and Jackson was tremendous in the first half.

The Salukis forced SEMO into committing 20 turnovers for the game, and Eley did not receive any offensive help until it was too late for the Indians. Eley made 10 of 16 shots, but the rest of squad shot just 13 of 43.

The Salukis now turn their attention to Division II foe University of Alaska-Fairbanks at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at SIU Arena. SIUC scheduled the Nanooks after Alaska-Fairbanks invited the Salukis to participate in last year’s Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks.

They play uptempo, and it will be an exciting game because they run, Herrin said. It will be a good style for us to handle their press. It will be good for us.

The Salukis tangle with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at SIU Arena.

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