CARBONDALE, Ill. (Interstat) — Southern Illinois used a strong second half to defeat Northern Iowa 65-50 in a Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball game Wednesday night at SIU Arena.

The Salukis (9-12, 2-6) led 27-19 at halftime and outscored the Panthers 38-31 after the break. Rolyns Aligbe led all scorers with 21 points for Southern Illinois. Quel’Ron House added 17 points and five assists.

Will Hornseth scored 14 points for Northern Iowa (13-9, 5-4), which shot just 40.4% from the field and committed 16 turnovers. The Panthers have lost three of their last four games.

Attendance was 3,670.