Coupet Jr. leads S. Illinois over Illinois St. 90-69

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Ben Coupet Jr. had 22 points as Southern Illinois easily defeated Illinois State 90-69 on Wednesday night.

Marcus Domask had 16 points and nine assists for Southern Illinois (16-13, 9-8 Missouri Valley Conference), which earned its fourth straight win. Lance Jones added 16 points. Steven Verplancken Jr. had 12 points.

The 90 points were a season best for Southern Illinois.

Antonio Reeves had 18 points for the Redbirds (11-19, 4-13), whose losing streak stretched to five games. Kendall Lewis added 14 points. Mark Freeman had 12 points.

The Salukis improve to 2-0 against the Redbirds on the season. Southern Illinois defeated Illinois State 75-69 on Feb. 5.