SIUC men’s basketball forward James Jackson quietly waited for his chance in the team’s first four games. Since then, Jackson has been anything but silent in the Saluki frontcourt.

Jackson keyed a dominating Saluki rebounding effort with 14 rebounds in a 92-69 win over the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Saturday night at SIU Arena.

The win marked Jackson’s third straight game in leading the Salukis in rebounding and improved SIUC’s record to 4-4. Division II opponent Alaska-Fairbanks fell to 3-6 on the year.

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Jackson stepped into the starting lineup after starters Derrick Tilmon and James Watts were injured prior to the team’s trip to Hawaii Dec. 3. Increased playing time has been the biggest factor for the junior from St. Louis.

I’ve been playing over 20 minutes in the last three or four games, and I think that’s all I really needed, Jackson said. I’ve got confidence, and every time I see the ball go up, I just try to go grab it.

SIUC coach Rich Herrin said Jackson’s play has been a big key in helping SIUC win its last two games.

It was a nice victory, Herrin said. We came out and had some fun in the second half and played relaxed. We’ve got a little pride in our rebounding. I’ll tell (forward Rashad) Tucker that Jackson is a better rebounder than he is, and that makes Tucker work a little bit harder.

The Nanooks opened the game with a solid effort in taking a 25-15 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half, but the Salukis’ size and depth took over soon enough. Tucker spurred a Saluki run with six points as SIUC took a 26-25 lead and never looked back.

Alaska-Fairbanks stayed close until the five-minute mark, when SIUC used a 9-0 run to take a 43-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, SIUC jumped out of the blocks quickly in opening up a 67-47 lead with 11 minutes and 26 seconds left. The Salukis added to the lead for the rest of the game in rolling to the 23-point win.

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Forward Chris Thunell said the Salukis are slowly learning to play well with a lead.

Usually when we go into halftime with a lead, we are kind of looking around and don’t know what to do, Thunell said. Lately, we’ve been going in with a lead and coming out and really opening up the game in the first five minutes. After that, you go out and have fun.

The Salukis outrebounded the Nanooks 59-28 and pulled down 30 offensive rebounds. Saturday’s contest marked the eighth time the Salukis have outrebounded their opponents this season

Tucker led four players in double figures in scoring with 19 points. Forward Chris Thunell had 16, while guard Monte Jenkins had 12, and Jackson added 10.

Thunell said the Salukis have turned the corner because of their strong inside play.

We’re .500 now, and I think it’s a new season, Thunell said. Derrick Tilmon is going to be back, and that’s just going add more depth. I don’t think we’ve been outrebounded once this season, and I think that’s a strong point in our game.

Jackson said the Salukis’ defensive effort was the biggest difference in the game’s final 30 minutes.

Our defense made them miss shots, Jackson said. We got out and started checking more of their shots. If you’ve got a hand in your face, you’re not going to hit as many shots as you would wide open.

SIUC is off until Saturday, when it travels to Drake University to start the Missouri Valley Conference season. Drake is much improved over last season, when it struggled to a 2-26 record. The Bulldogs are 3-4 this season, including a 63-61 win over Iowa State University Wednesday.

Drake beat Iowa State, and that’s got to make you very concerned, Herrin said. I think this is going to be a good basketball team, but we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got to prove a lot of things.