CARBONDALE, Ill. – The University of North Dakota men's basketball team dropped a 85-64 decision to Southern Illinois on Thursday afternoon in Carbondale, Ill.
 
UND (1-6) struggled in the first half against the No. 17 team in the Mid-Major Top-25, as Southern Illinois (4-0) used a 20-4 run over a nine-minute stretch in the opening stanza to build a 17-point halftime advantage.
 
Gertautas Urbonavicius had his best game of the young season off the bench, matching the team lead with 13 points on a 5-for-7 day from the field. The sophomore also grabbed four rebounds and sank three triples to pace UND's reserves.
 
After a scoreless first half, Caleb Nero exploded for 13 points in the second stanza on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. The Weber State transfer knocked down all three of his triples in the half as well as both of his shots from the charity stripe.
 
Filip Rebraca was limited to just 25 minutes, but still managed to reach double figures for the 15th straight game with 12 points on a 5-of-6 night from the field. The Serbian grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists as well.
 
Seybian Sims just missed double figures with nine points on a 3-for-5 afternoon from deep, but collected a team-high seven rebounds. Tyree Ihenacho was all over the stat sheet with eight points, three steals, a trio of helpers and three boards in 30 minutes.
 
Southern Illinois used pace to get things going in the opening portion of the half, jumping out to a pair of six-point advantages at the eight-minute mark of the first half. Urbonavicius provided a spark with a quick five points off the bench, including knocking down a triple off a feed from Ihenacho, to trim the deficit to four, 13-9, with 11:41 to play in the stanza.
 
Rebraca started to get the UND offense flowing over the midway portion of the period, with the junior knocking down back-to-back jumpers before finding Sims late in the shot clock for a triple to start a 6-0 run and cut the SIU lead down to just one, 17-16. The Salukis answered with a  run of their own though, striking for 10 straight to take the first double digit lead of the afternoon, 27-16, with just under six minutes to play.
 
The run continued to grow for the Salukis as the half wore on, extending the consecutive point streak to 16 and holding the Hawks scoreless for over eight minutes to take a 33-16 lead near the final moments of the half. Ihenacho snapped the scoreless drought with a strong take to the rim before the freshman dove to the floor for a steal, went end-to-end and found Mitchell Sueker for a bucket to force an SIU timeout.
 
SIU ended the half with the final four points to take a 37-20 lead to the locker room after 20 minutes. The offense struggled for the Hawks, connecting on only eight of the 28 attempts from the field (.258) while connecting on only 3-of-17 triples (.176).
 
It was a much better start to the second half for UND out of the gates, hitting three of its first six shots from the field, including 2-for-4 from three, but could only wither the deficit down to 14, 43-29 at the first media stoppage. Nero clawed the Hawks to within 10 with a pair of makes at the charity stripe and his first connection from distance before Allen-Eikens kicked it out to Ethan Igbanugo for another three to force an SIU timeout at 44-37.
 
 The three ball kept falling for the Salukis in the second half, hitting three straight to turn the seven-point lead back to a 16-point advantage, 55-39, at the midway point of the second half. North Dakota continued to hang around, with Rebraca and Sueker each scoring to bring the Hawks to within 10, but a 7-0 run by the Salukis pushed it back to 17, 62-45, with 7:49 to go.
 
Despite hitting 8-of-14 from three in the second half, UND was unable to overcome the halftime deficit and Southern Illinois held on for an 85-64 victory.
 
The same two teams will meet tomorrow to close out the week at 3 p.m. from Carbondale. Fans can tune in on ESPN3 or the Home of the Economy Radio Network.
 
For more news on UND men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @UNDmbasketball.
 
NOTES: De'Sean Allen-Eikens returned from injury for the first time since Nov. 25 at Miami … UND hit a season-high 11 triples … Urbonavicius's 13 points were a season high … The .625 clip in the second half was a season high in a half … The 31 triples attempted by the Hawks were a season high … Rebraca reached double figures for the 15th straight game … Southern Illinois won the rebounding battle, 34-25 … Rebraca's 12 points were a season low.