CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- The Banterra Center was the place to be Wednesday night, so WSIL Sports Director Jason Hurst did a live broadcast previewing the SIU versus Loyola (Chicago) men's basketball game.
Entering the contest, the Salukis were just a game out of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference.
SIU was trailing both Northern Iowa and Wednesday night's opponent, Loyola (Chicago).
SIU wore special black jerseys as part of the Black Out Cancer initiative.
Fans bid for the rights to put a name on the back of a jersey and the winning bidders get to keep the game worn jerseys.
Proceeds are going to ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý Illinois Healthcare's Coach Kill Fund.
The two teams, met January 16th in Chicago with the Ramblers winning 64-48.
Salukis went cold the second half of that game, and entered Wednesday knowing they would need to be more consistent if they expected to win.
SIU entered the game winning three straight conference games, and for a team that entered the season with not a lot of MVC experience, it looks like it's starting to come together for this group.
"Well I think they are starting to understand how important every possession is in this league and you look at the last two games, and it comes down to possession games," SIU Head Coach Bryan Mullins said.
"So I think they are starting to understand the importance of the scouting report, executing the plays the right way and just how to win close games and that is what I was happy about these last couple of games is we were able to close out some close games."
