Davis scores 24 as Southern Illinois knocks off Illinois State 88-79

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Kennard Davis had 24 points in Southern Illinois’ 88-79 victory over Illinois State on Tuesday night.

Davis also contributed five assists for the Salukis (13-17, 8-11 Missouri Valley Conference). Ali Abdou Dibba scored 22 points while shooting 8 of 16 from the field and 6 for 9 from the line and added six rebounds. Drew Steffe had 18 points and shot 6 of 9 from the field, including 5 for 5 from 3-point range, and went 1 for 3 from the line.

Dalton Banks led the Redbirds (17-13, 9-10) in scoring, finishing with 18 points and three steals. Illinois State also got 13 points and six rebounds from Johnny Kinziger. Malachi Poindexter also recorded 12 points.

Southern Illinois took the lead with 15:02 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. Jarrett Hensley led his team in scoring with 14 points in the first half to help put them ahead 43-35 at the break. Kennard Davis Jr.’s 18-point second half helped Southern Illinois close out the nine-point victory.

Both teams next play Sunday. Southern Illinois visits Indiana State and Illinois State plays Evansville at home.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

By The Associated Press