Southern Illinois pulls away from Southeast Missouri 74-50
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) Sean O'Brien scored 22, going 10 of 15 from the field, and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Southern Illinois to a 74-50 win over Southeast Missouri on Wednesday night.
Anthony Beane hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range and added 16 points for the Salukis (7-1), who are off to their best start since 2006. Mike Rodrigues had 10 points and seven assists and Austin Weiher made 5 of 8 shots for 10 points off the bench.
Ladarius Coleman had 10 points for the Redhawks (0-6), who trailed 32-27 at the half but only shot 26 percent in the second half.
Southern Illinois, which hasn't had a winning season since 2007-08, made six free throws followed by a Rodrigues layup to open a 51-37 lead midway through the second half and the Redhawks never challenged.
The Salukis had a 45-33 advantage on the boards and 48-26 on points in the paint.
