S. Illinois 59, Evansville 39

1/29/2008 10:04 PM

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) -Randal Falker scored 16 points and had three assists to lead Southern Illinois to a 59-39 victory over Evansville on Tuesday night.

Southern Illinois (11-10, 6-4 Missouri Valley) led 29-20 at the half and never trailed in the game.

Both teams averaged 35.7 percent shooting from the field for the game. But Southern Illinois shot 20-for-56 compared with Evansville (6-14, 1-9), which shot 15-for-42.

Senior Matt Shaw added 15 points, including a game-high 16 rebounds, for the Salukis. Joshua Bone had nine points.

Ely Shy scored 16 points for Evansville. He was the only Purple Aces player in the double digits. Jason Holsinger had nine points. Nate Garner had ten rebounds.