January 24, 2004

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Southern Indiana built a 23-point lead by halftime and defeated Southern Illinois University 86-62 in men's college basketball on Saturday.
         SIUE, 9-9 overall and 5-7 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, paid for its 13 turnovers in 32 points for Southern Indiana, which improved to 15-3 and 8-3 in the GLVC.
         Southern Indiana and SIUE were even for the first five minutes of the game but watched as Southern Indiana built a sizeable lead behind four first-half three-pointers from Geoff Van Winkle, who finished 14 points overall. Cris Brunson led all scorers with 24 for USI.
         Tyler Hackstadt led the charge for the Cougars with 22, and Dan Heimos added 13. It was the first time this season Ron Jones was held to less than 10 points with his five-point effort on 2-of-8 shooting.
         Southern Indiana led 41-18 at halftime. SIUE played even with Southern Indiana in the second half. USI shot nearly 57 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range. USI's defense held SIUE to 28 percent shooting in the first half. The Cougars rebounded in the second half to 56 percent shooting in the second half.
         SIUE now returns home for a 7:30 p.m. meeting on Thursday against Quincy. SIUE is idle next Saturday.
                -siue cougars-