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Butler hits the road again, visits Southern Illinois

Dec 28, 2007 - 2:07 PM No. 17 Butler (11-1) at Southern Illinois (5-5) 9:00 pm EST

CARBONDALE, Illinois (Ticker) - Having five full days to digest an unexpected narrow victory in its last game, No. 17 Butler travels to SIU Arena to meet Southern Illinois on Friday.

After Florida Gulf Coast hung with them through 38 minutes on Saturday, Butler used a late 10-2 run over the contest's final two minutes to distance themselves from the Eagles and escape with a 78-66 win.

Guard Danny Graves hit all nine of his free throw attempts to help Butler to a season-best 93 percent (26-of-28) shooting from the foul line. That efficiency helped the Bulldogs overcome a five-minute stretch near the end of the game in which they did not score a basket.

Butler will be playing consecutive road games for the third time this season when they face the Salukis, who are off to their slowest start since coach Chris Lowery joined the program as an assistant in 2001-02.

Southern Illinois recorded a 68-64 road victory when these teams met last season.

The Salukis got 24 points from junior guard Wesley Clemmons, who missed the team's first four games with an ankle injury, in a 88-78 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday.

The Salukis have just two wins in their last seven games.