After winning Saturday following Coach Barry Hinson’s rant gone viral on the internet, SIU was able to string together another win over the Cougars Monday.

The Salukis (4-8) welcomed Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2-10) Monday to SIU Arena in the sixth meeting between the two schools. All six meetings have resulted in Saluki victories, including Monday with a final score of 74-57.

SIU was led in scoring by sophomore guard Jalen Pendleton for the second consecutive game. Pendleton had 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and added six rebounds in only 22 minutes on the floor.

Hinson said if anyone wanted to send Pendleton a Christmas card, his address is the baseline at SIU Arena.

“He’s like a beaver down there, he’s got his dam underneath the goal around that baseline,” Hinson said. “He’s just burrowed … he loves it.”

Along with Pendleton, senior guard Desmar Jackson was stat sheet stuffer in the win. Jackson finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, a career high of eight assists and no turnovers.

Hinson said he was impressed with Jackson’s play and didn’t think he’s had a guard finish with stats like that since he’s been at SIU.

“I think it’s the best he’s played since I’ve been here,” Hinson said.

Jackson dazzled the crowd with slick passes and even finished an alley-oop from sophomore guard Marcus Fillyaw.

The Salukis shot 60 percent from the field and outscored the Cougars in the paint 52-16.

More than 7000 fans of Saluki Nation filled SIU Arena, it was the biggest crowd since the arena was renovated before the 2010-2011 season.

The crowd didn’t leave disappointed. SIU led by as many as 30 in the win but the Cougars cut the lead to 11 with a little more than a minute left in the game.

Free throws are still a sore subject for the Salukis, they were 12-of-18 from the line in the game.

SIU will have a few days off for Christmas until the team travels to Miami University Dec. 29. The Salukis will be back home Jan. to take on the Wichita State University Shockers. WSU is currently ranked 10th in the AP Top 25 and eighth in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Tyler Dixon can be reached at [email protected] or tdixon_de on Twitter.