Belmont 73, at Southern Illinois 68

CARBONDALE, Ill. (Interstat) — In a grinding Missouri Valley Conference rematch defined by a dominant opening act, the Belmont Bruins weathered a furious second-half rally from Southern Illinois to secure a 73-68 victory on Saturday at SIU Arena. The Bruins, who suffered a one-point loss to the Salukis just 13 days prior, exacted immediate revenge by constructing a massive early lead and then holding on through a tense final minute before an announced crowd of 3,944. The game’s decisive stretch came not in the closing seconds, but in its opening ten minutes. Belmont, improving to 17-3 overall, came out with… Read more...