June 2, 2008

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois men's basketball team will make a summer trip to Canada in August to play three games against Canadian club teams, head coach Chris Lowery announced Monday.

The Salukis will play three games in three days (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) over Labor Day weekend in Windsor, which is located just east of Detroit, Mich.

With five freshmen on the 2008-09 roster, Lowery hopes the trip will help his young squad get a head start on the season.

"This will be great for all of the young kids in our program," said Lowery. "Besides the game experience, we will have a chance to practice, evaluate players and build our team chemistry."

The NCAA allows schools to make a foreign trip once every four years. The last time SIU made such a trip was in 2003 when then-head coach Matt Painter took the Salukis to Europe to play six games.