Southern Illinois Salukis @ Evansville Purple Aces
Taylor with 25, Evansville upsets Southern Illinois 75-44
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Ryan Taylor scored 25 points and grabbed five rebounds and Evansville upset Southern Illinois 75-44 on Saturday, snapping a four-game skid.
Taylor was 10 of 18 from the field, including five from distance, for the Purple Aces (17-14, 7-11 Missouri Valley Conference). Dru Smith added 14 points with four rebounds and four assists. Blake Simmons had 12 points and five rebounds.
Kavion Pippen who has averaged 12.6 point a game this season for the Salukis (19-12, 11-7), was held to just two points. Southern Illinois finishes the regular season in second place in the conference standings, four games behind Loyola-Chicago.
Taylor had a dunk and two 3-pointers in the first half, helping the Purple Aces to a 36-17 lead at intermission.
Taylor and Simmons each hit a 3 in a 10-5 run to open the second half, pushing it to 46-22 with 16:57 to play and Evansville cruised from there.
Armon Fletcher led the Salukis with 11 points and five rebounds.
Game Information
Evansville, IN
Referee:James Durham
Referee:Gene Grimshaw
Referee:Nate Green
2025-26 Standings
| Missouri Valley ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 8-2 | - | 18-3 |
| Murray State | 8-2 | - | 16-5 |
| Bradley | 7-4 | 1.5 | 14-8 |
| Illinois State | 6-4 | 2 | 14-7 |
| UIC | 6-4 | 2 | 11-10 |
| Northern Iowa | 5-5 | 3 | 13-8 |
| Drake | 5-5 | 3 | 11-10 |
| Valparaiso | 4-5 | 3.5 | 10-10 |
| Southern Illinois | 2-7 | 5.5 | 8-12 |
| Indiana State | 2-8 | 6 | 9-12 |
| Evansville | 1-8 | 6.5 | 5-15 |
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