Southern Illinois delivers complete effort to top New Mexico State

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 81, NEW MEXICO STATE 54

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MX — Southern Illinois jumped out to an early lead against New Mexico State and cruised to victory in the third-place game of the Riviera Division at the Men’s Cancun Challenge.

The Salukis (4-1) had a huge advantage in made 3-pointers (16-0) and played very cleanly with just five turnovers. Xavier Johnson, who tied the event single-game scoring record on Tuesday with 38 points, led the Salukis again with 18 points. Troy D’Amico and Jovan Stulic each scored 13 points and Kennard Davis closed with 12 points and six rebounds.

The Aggies (3-4) got off to a difficult start, scoring 19 points in the first half and going just 3-for-20 from the field. Femi Odukale had 18 points and eight rebounds; Robert Carpenter added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Kaosi Ezeagu tallied 11 points. NMSU was terrific from the free-throw line, going 24-for-29 overall.

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