WICHITA, Kan.- Despite a career-high 19 points from J.T. Durley and a furious second half comeback the Wichita State men's basketball team fell to 6-9 overall and 0-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play after a 74-62 loss to Southern Illinois (6-9, 1-3) Wednesday night inside Charles Koch Arena.

Durley was nearly perfect from the floor connecting on 8-of-9 shots in 28 minutes off the Shocker bench. Toure' Murry finished with 10 points and four assists for WSU while Ryan Hare led the Salukis with a career-high 18 points as every SIU starter registered at least 12 points.

Tony Boyle had eight of his 12 points in the first six minutes of the game, fueling a hot start for SIU as the Salukis led 18-7 early on. That's when the Shocker bench rallied the team, scoring the WSU's next 15 points. Durley caught fire scoring eight points as part of a 10-0 run to pull the Shockers within one, 18-17, with 11 minutes to play in the half.

SIU answered as Hare and Kevin Dillard scored inside, drew fouls and connected from the free-throw line to push the Saluki lead to 10, 35-25 at halftime.

A Bryan Mullins layup pushed the SIU lead to 12 with 14:21 on the clock when the Shockers started to chip away. Durley got things rolling with a mid-ranger jumper and a Murry three-pointer sandwiched between a layup and three-pointer from Mantas Griskenas ignited the offense and a rowdy Shocker crowd.

Trailing by four, the Shockers got the defensive stop they needed as David Kyles intercepted an errant pass from Boyle. Kyles found Clevin Hannah who pulled up and nailed a deep three-pointer to pull WSU within one, 56-55, with eight and a half minutes to play.

That would be as close as the Shockers would get however as SIU went on an 8-0 run to take control of the game. A three-pointer from Murry pulled WSU within four with just under six minutes to play, but WSU would get no closer as a 10-2 Saluki run provided the final margin.

WSU improved offensively by shooting 46 percent from the floor for the game, including 56 percent in the second half. The Shockers dished out 15 assists, led by Hannah's five, and limited the turnovers, finishing with just 10.

The Shockers also saw improved production from their bench. Led by Durley's career-high 19 points, the WSU bench outscored SIU's 33-2. Griskenas added a season-high seven points while Graham Hatch and Reggie Chamberlain finished with four points and three points, respectively.

The Shockers are next in action on Sun., Jan. 11, at defending conference champion Drake. Tip-off is set for 6:05 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

-- Wichita State --