SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Ante Brzovic's 27 points helped Charleston defeat Southern Illinois 90-80 on Monday in a season opener.

Brzovic also contributed nine rebounds for the Cougars. Deywilk Tavarez scored 17 points while shooting 5 for 7 (3 for 3 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. CJ Fulton went 6 of 12 from the field (3 for 6 from 3-point range) to finish with 17 points, while adding seven assists.

Elijah Elliott led the way for the Salukis with 23 points and three steals. Southern Illinois also got 14 points and two steals from Ali Abdou Dibba. Kennard Davis had 12 points and three steals.

Charleston led Southern Illinois at the half, 45-42, with Brzovic (14 points) its high scorer before the break. Charleston took the lead for good with 7:44 left in the second half on a layup from Brzovic to make it a 73-71 game.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.