Facing a struggling offense and tough opponent defense, the signs were pointing to a possible first loss of the season to Southern Illinois on Tuesday night. After rallying together in the second half, the team was able to overcome their first half struggle and remain undefeated by defeating the Salukis, 78-67.

In the first half, the team struggled on offense and defense as they had a hard time knocking down shots and stopping the Southern Illinois offense. Salukis guard Anthony Beane dominated the Shockers in the first half, hitting six of 10 shots and sinking two three-point shots.

Not a Shocker player landed in double-digit scoring figures in the first half. Senior forward Cleanthony Early topped the team with eight points followed by sophomore guard Ron Baker with six.

Going into the locker room at halftime, the team trailed by 1 point with a score of 32-33. With solid team effort, they managed to hang tight with the Salukis with their largest deficit at 5 points.

“I think playing teams a second time, both teams have an advantage,” Baker said. “Tonight, they just took more of an advantage of us. They obviously executed a little better.”

Coming back in the second half, the Shockers were on a roll on defense and offense. Pushing Saluki senior Desmar Jackson out of the game with foul trouble, the team had finally broken down one-third of the team’s offensive components.

“We ran out of gas,” Southern Illinois head coach Barry Hinson said. “We have to find gas and we got nothing.”

Ending on a positive note, the Shockers finished the game with five players, scoring in double-digit figures. One of them was Baker, who finished the game with 19 points, five assists, two blocks and steals. Another was Early, with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals.

“That was not our best effort,” Shocker head coach Gregg Marshall said. “They had a great game plan. We pulled away slowly but they get a lot of credit for that. They played well.”

The Shockers will continue to pursue their perfect season as they play Evansville on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will air on MVC-TV.