Coach Barry Hinson’s team rallied in the second half but if was not enough to climb out of the hole the Salukis dug for themselves in the first half.

SIU men’s basketball (8-12, 1-6) was defeated by the Evansville Purple Aces (15-5, 5-3), 75-66 Saturday.

The Salukis turned the ball over 12 times and shot 31.6 percent from the field. SIU trailed 39-24 at the half.

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SIU turned the ball over just three times in the second half. Shooting also improved for the Dawgs as they shot 48 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range in the second half.

One big factor in SIU’s improved second half play was freshman forward Jordan Caroline. He scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. Caroline was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field in the second half.

The Salukis cut the lead down to four with roughly 6:30 left in the game, but it was too little too late, as Evansville held on to win.

Junior guard Anthony Beane led SIU in scoring with 19 points, but shot only 28 percent.

The Salukis play the Northern Iowa Panthers (17-2, 6-1) at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at SIU Arena.

Sean Phee can be contacted at [email protected] or at 536-3311 ext. 269