SIU men’s basketball lost its fourth straight game and its eighth of its last nine Saturday at Indiana State.

The Sycamores (14-14, 10-6) racked up 18 assists on 26 field goals in a 78-58 win against the Salukis (10-19, 3-13), who managed 6 assists on 20 buckets. The Sycamores outrebounded SIU 38-26.

Indiana State led the final 32:39 of the game and held a double-digit lead for the last 23:40.

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ISU senior forward Justin Gant led the charge early, scoring Indiana State’s first 8 points, picking apart the Salukis’ interior defense.

SIU sophomore center Bola Olaniyan was ejected with 7:56 left in the first half for elbowing Gant in the face.

Olaniyan’s ejection opened the door for junior center Deng Leek to play a career-high 13 minutes and record 4 blocks.

Junior guard Anthony Beane led all scorers with 22 points, but did not get enough help from his teammates to keep the game close.

Freshman guard Brenton Scott led Indiana State with 17 points, 11 of which came in the first five minutes of the second half. Gant finished with 16.

Saluki junior guard Jalen Pendleton was listed as a game time decision after suffering a concussion Tuesday against Wichita State. He did not play. 

SIU plays the Illinois State Redbirds at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Redbird Arena in Normal. 

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Thomas Donley can be reached at [email protected] or at 536-3311 ext. 269.