CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Shockers took Southern Illinois to the wire, outlasting the Salukis in a thriller on Sunday night, 55-54, to snap a haunting 11-game losing streak at SIU Arena.

The Shockers (19-4, 8-3) jumped out to a 10-point lead using a hot start from Graham Hatch, who racked up nine point and three rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. He finished the night with 13 points and five rebounds to lead the Shockers to a win in a building they had not won in since 1998.

"It's a big win," Head Coach Gregg Marshall said. "The Shocks haven't won here in a while. I'm just not into that. We've got a one-game streak against Southern Illinois here and that's all I want to talk about now."

With 10 second-half points, sophomore center Garrett Stutz provided a massive spark for the Shockers. He recorded 12 points and pulled down six big offensive rebounds.

The Salukis (12-9, 4-7) were led by John Freeman and Gene Teague, who each collected 12 points on Sunday night.

A three from senior point guard Clevin Hannah and another from freshman guard Demetric Williams opened and closed a 10-0 run for the Shocks as they climbed to a 16-6 lead just eight minutes in. Williams made his four first-half minutes count, knocking down both shot attempts for five crucial points.

SIU guards Kevin Dillard and Freeman came roaring back, knocking down key jumpers to close the gap. Freeman's three-point play brought the Salukis within one, 20-19 at the six-minute mark.

Hatch's three sparked a mini 5-0 Shocker run to strengthen his team's lead before Carlton Fey answered with one of his own for the Salukis. Grabbing the clutch offensive rebound, Hatch nailed the put back layup under the two-minute mark.

But it was Fay and Dillard who responded again as the Salukis rallied for a 6-2 run to send the Shockers to the break with the one-point lead, 29-28.

Teague's free-throw and Freeman's runner through the lane gave the Salukis their first lead since the 18-minute mark to open the second half, 32-29.

Hatch and sophomore guard Toure' Murry teamed up for a layup and three, respectively to return the lead back to the visitors before the back-and-forth scoring rally ensued. Hatch made his way to the basket and Hannah found him for the layup to give the Shocks the 38-34 edge before the first media timeout.

Stutz emerged with authority in the second half, picking up a block and back-to-back layups amongst a 10-0 WSU run. Hannah drove to the basket as well to extend the Shockers' lead to 10 for the second time of the evening, 44-34.

As they'd done all night, Southern Illinois came roaring back. Using a 10-3 run, highlighted by a dunk and a three from Freeman cut the Saluki defect, 47-44 just halfway through the final 20.

Stutz struck again for a one-handed dunk, which was quickly negated by a Justin Bocot jumper to keep the game close but in WSU's favor, 49-46.

The final minutes kept the thousands at SIU Arena on their seats as each team had an answer for the other.

Junior forward JT Durley and Stutz combined for a quick 4-0 run to take a five-point advantage. As expected, SIU responded with a Teague three-point play cutting into the gap, 53-51.

Durley's fourth foul sent Bocot to the line. After hitting the first, Bocot missed the second. Murry grabbed the rebound to send it back to the Shockers' end of the floor. Hannah dished to his sophomore guard for the layup and the three-point lead with a minute and a half remaining.

With 20 seconds to play, Dillard took charge for his team, driving to the hole to bring the Salukis within one. Despite Hannah missing the first half of a one-and-one, Durley grabbed the rebound from Dillard's missed jumper to seal the win and break the viscous SIU Arena streak.

The Shockers are in action again on Wedsnesday, Feb. 3, when they head to Missouri Valley-leading No. 25 Northern Iowa. Tip-off is set for 7:05 pm.