NORMAL - When Wesley Clemmons put in a rebound basket with 3:55 left in the first half, the Redbird Arena crowd responded with applause Saturday night. | Photo gallery | MVC page

Sarcastic applause. The kind of applause Southern Illinois is not used to hearing. The kind of applause Illinois State fans aren't used to dishing out, especially to the Salukis.

ISU bolted to a 25-3 lead and let everyone know its recent success on the road was no fluke. The Redbirds snapped a six-year and 11-game losing streak to the Salukis with a 56-47 Missouri Valley Conference victory before a pumped-up season-best crowd of 9,457.

"It was a little surreal looking up at the clock. Not in my craziest dreams did I think that was going to happen," said ISU coach Tim Jankovich. "Maybe we were fortunate, but I do know our guys dug in and gave everything they had."

ISU's sixth straight victory put it at 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the Valley, tied for first with Indiana State (Drake is 2-0). The Redbirds, coming off four straight road wins and playing their first home game in 28 days, have not started 3-0 in the Valley since winning their first six games in the 1997-98 season en route to their last league championship.

Levi Dyer paced ISU with 14 points. Osiris Eldridge, who didn't start because he was late to a shootaround practice, added 13 points.

ISU meets Northern Iowa at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday in the second game of a four-game home stand.

After missing its first 16 shots and going more than 16 minutes without a basket, Clemmons' basket ended SIU's drought. The kings of defense in the Valley - and maybe even college basketball - were getting whipped at their own game by an inspired ISU team.

"We came out focused and tried to take them out of their stuff," said Eldridge. "They're a good defensive team, but they struggle with their offense. We took their offense away and they struggled to score."

SIU (6-8, 1-2) eventually made a game of it. The Salukis cut the deficit to 31-22 by scoring the first nine points of the second half before ISU regrouped.

Dyer's 3-pointer capped an 11-0 run that lifted the lead to 42-22. The Salukis never got the deficit into single digits again until the final 30 seconds.

SIU had won 11 straight games in the series dating back to Feb. 16, 2002 when the Redbirds earned an 84-70 victory. But the Salukis shot 26 percent from the field (13 of 50), their second lowest dating back to 1950, and their 13 first-half points were their lowest half in 25 years.

"It (defense) is something we set out to do as soon as we got here. I knew how important that was going to be," said Jankovich. "Sitting on my seat, coaching and watching them every day and seeing how responsive they are and how much energy they have, I'm a fortunate guy. I love this team and am really happy for them."

The tone was set early when SIU made six turnovers on its first six possessions without getting off a shot. ISU led 12-0 before Randal Falker sank one of two free throws with 12:55 left in the first half.

"They guarded us. That was them. They overwhelmed us. They do what we do to people," said SIU coach Chris Lowery. "They pressured the point guards, flustered people and forced a bunch of turnovers the first 10 minutes."

The Salukis got their front-court game going, but it was too late. Matt Shaw scored 13 of his game-high 15 points in the second half. Falker, the preseason Valley Player of the Year, scored nine of his 13 points after the intermission.

The Salukis barely avoided the fewest points in Redbird Arena first-half history. Only when Shaw slammed a rebound dunk with a minute left did SIU get to 12 points and above the 11 that Indiana State scored on Feb. 14, 2004.

ISU didn't panic when SIU, trailing 31-13 at the break, charged out of the locker room and cut the Redbird lead to nine with 15 minutes left.

"We needed to slow down. We were getting rushed. They made a little run," said Dyer. "We needed to slow down, have some good offensive possessions and get two or three stops in a row to build a lead."

---

ISU report card

FRONT COURT: B+

The Redbirds neutralized Randal Falker by constantly double-teaming him every time he touched the ball. ISU missed a couple chances to finish plays which would have helped extend lead in second half.

BACK COURT: A-

Pressure defense by Boo Richardson and Dom Johnson at the start set the tone. Johnson and Osiris Eldridge drove the ball effectively at SIU's defense.

BENCH: A

Eldridge came off bench for only second time this season and combined with Levi Dyer, Brandon Sampay and Sead Odzic to wear down the Salukis.

OVERALL: A-

Amazing start had the big crowd of 9,437energized. The Redbirds proved they could finally beat the Salukis and showed their 3-0 start in the Valley is no fluke.