Aces and Salukis tangle at 7 p.m.
 Another stiff road test awaits the University of Evansville men’s basketball team as the Purple Aces travel to Carbondale, Ill. to face Southern Illinois on Thursday.
ESPN3 will televise the game as part of “The Valley on ESPN3†package. Game time is set for 8 p.m.
Evansville sits at 17-4 overall and 6-2 in league play following an 82-65 defeat at Indiana State on Sunday. The Sycamores scored the first eight points of the game and overcame a first-half rally that saw the Aces get within a point. D.J. Balentine scored a team-best 20 points while Egidijus Mockevicius had 13 rebounds and 10 points.
Both seniors are closing in on program records as Balentine sits with 2,210 career points and is just 69 away from Colt Ryan’s program mark of 2,279, which was set just three years ago. Larry Humes is also ahead of him with 2,236.
Mockevicius has moved into second place on the all-time list with 1,089 rebounds. Dale Wise, who played from 1959 through 1961 holds the record with 1,197.
Southern Illinois has had a resurgent season that has seen them win 18 of the first 21 games this season. The Salukis are winners of their last four games and 10 of their last 11 overall.
Leading the way for SIU is Anthony Beane, who is second in the Valley with 19.3 points per game; he has made the start in all 21 games. Sean O’Brien averages 12.3 points per contest and is second on the squad with six rebounds. Their top rebounder is Bola Olaniyan, who is second in the MVC with 8.3 caroms per game.
