Deontae Hawkins scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds as Illinois State won its fourth-straight, beating Loyola of Chicago 54-52 on Wednesday night.

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell added 14 points and four rebounds for the Redbirds (9-7, 3-0 Missouri Valley Conference). Nick Banyard had 10 points and five rebounds. The team averaged 35.3 percent shooting from the field and 57.9 percent from the line.

The Redbirds didn't score a bucket till Banyard sank a layup nearly eight minutes into the first half. They went on to take a 26-21 lead at the break.

Hawkins hit a 3-pointer early in the second half and Banyard hit two more midway to help keep the Redbirds out front throughout the period. With three seconds to go, Banyard blocked a shot by Illinois State's Montel James that would have tied the game.

James led the Ramblers (7-8, 0-3) with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

>>Southern Illinois Gets By Short-Handed Bradley

Anthony Beane scored 11 points and Bola Olaniyan gathered 10 rebounds as Southern Illinois dominated Bradley 65-44 on Wednesday night.

Southern Illinois (14-2, 3-0 Missouri Valley) won for the first time in Peoria since 2012 and improved to 6-0 on the road, its best start in school history.

Beane scored seven straight points with five free throws and a jumper to give Southern Illinois a 23-13 lead and the Salukis extended it to 41-23 at the break.

Beane's dunk at the 16:19 mark gave the Salukis a 24-point lead.

Ronnie Suggs was the only player in double figures with 12 points for Bradley (2-14, 0-3). The Braves are the youngest team in Division I, with a rotation of nine freshmen and a sophomore. Ka'Darryl Bell and Scottie James were out with injuries.

The Braves' active roster has scored 1,367 career points, 269 fewer than Beane.