CARBONDALE, Ill. – No. 17 in the Mid Major Top-25 Southern Illinois defeated North Dakota, 62-50, on Friday afternoon in the second of two meetings between the programs in consecutive days from Carbondale.
 
UND (1-7) put together a strong 20 minutes to head to the locker room trailing by just four, but the Salukis (5-0) used the opening portion of the second half to build a 19-point advantage that proved too much to overcome.
 
Filip Rebraca battled to record his 16th straight game in double figures, but was held to just 4-of-10 from the field for a season-low 11 points. The junior led the team with eight rebounds while also recording an assist and steal.
 
Making his sixth straight start, Seybian Sims knocked down three triples for the second straight game for nine points while grabbing six rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Freshman point guard Tyree Ihenacho was all over the stat sheet once again with six points, seven assists, five rebounds and a steal while playing a team-best 38 minutes.
 
It was a much better start as a group for the Fighting Hawks, especially on the defensive end, holding the Salukis scoreless for the opening three minutes of the contest. UND also forced a trio of turnovers in the early slate, converting one of those into a Sims triple, for a 3-0 lead in the opening moments.
 
Southern Illinois started to heat up after finding the basket for the first time at the charity stripe, knocking down back-to-back triples to rattle off eight straight points and an 8-3 advantage at the first media timeout. Following that Sims three, UND missed its next five shots from the field, including three straight from distance, to allow SIU to build its advantage.
 
UND went to its reserves looking for a spark on the offensive side, with Ethan Igbanugo and Gertautas Urbonavicius knocking down shots to keep the Hawks within six, 16-10, at the under-12 media stoppage. The duo kept it rolling by each tallying another bucket before Igbanugo found Mitchell Sueker for a layup and forced a timeout from SIU at 19-15 Salukis with just over seven minutes to play in the first half.
 
After falling into a trap of a scoring drought in yesterday's contest during the final moments of the opening stanza, UND looked to avoid that on Friday after seeing the SIU lead grow to nine with about three minutes to play. After Brady Danielson earned a hard two in the paint and a pair of Rebraca free throws, the Serbian drilled a triple in the final seconds of the half to send the Hawks to the locker room trailing by just four, 29-25, at the halftime break.
 
It was a strong defensive half for the Hawks, holding a Southern Illinois team that entered Friday as the nation's top three-point shooting team to just 4-for-14 through 20 minutes and at a .379 clip from the field overall. Turnovers and free throws seemed to be the only bugaboo for UND, with the visitors only hitting three of their seven attempts from the charity stripe and committing eight turnovers.
 
The lid was on the hoop for UND out of the halftime break, failing to strike for the opening four minutes of the frame while Southern Illinois came out with six straight to push the advantage into double digits, 35-25. Ihenacho broke the drought with a strong take to the basket before Rebraca converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to eight, 38-30, at the under-16 timeout.
 
After a tough first half from the field for SIU, the hosts came out much better offensively in the next 20 minutes. The Salukis hit seven of their first 13 attempts from the field to build a 13-point lead, 46-33, with just under 12 minutes to play in the contest.
 
Southern Illinois grew the lead to 19 over the next few minutes, and despite a late charge from UND to cut it down to 12, the lead was too much to overcome as the Hawks fell, 62-50.
 
North Dakota will close the nonconference portion of the schedule on Tuesday evening against Drake at 6 p.m. from Des Moines.
 
For more news on UND men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @UNDmbasketball.
 
NOTES: De'Sean Allen-Eikens missed his sixth game due to injury … Filip Rebraca reached double figures for the 16th straight game … This was the first time since 1983 that UND has played the same opponent on consecutive days … UND falls to 1-5 all-time against Southern Illinois … The Hawks have dropped seven straight road games dating back to Feb. 15, 2020 … UND held SIU to a season-low .273 clip from three … Sims has hit at least three triples in each of his last two games … Rebraca's 11 points were a season-low … SIU won the rebounding battle, 37-32.