Saluki Men’s Basketball falls at Valparaiso, 83-72

Armon Fletcher posted career-high 32 points, 14 rebounds

By Tom Weber 

VALPARAISO, IN — Missouri Valley Conference newcomer Valparaiso used a 23-2 run in the final eight minutes of the first half en route to an 83-72 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday and its first-ever league victory.

The Crusaders (10-7, 1-3) made 10-of-18 shots from 3-point, plus got 28 points and 10 rebounds from its two 7-foot centers. They snapped a four-game losing streak and won for just the second time in their last 10 outings.

“It can’t be missed, and I talked about this publicly, how well our team has been practicing, and how much they’ve continued to fight and continued to work,” said second-year Valpo head coach Matt Lottich. “It’s a testament to their character, because it hasn’t been easy the last month.”

Armon Fletcher had a career high 32 points against Valpo. (SIU Media Services photo)

Armon Fletcher had a career night for the Salukis (10-7, 2-2) with 32 points and 14 rebounds, but as a team, Southern shot 42 percent. Fletcher became SIU’s first player to score 30 points in a game since Anthony Beane did it versus Drake on Feb. 13, 2016.

“That’s the one positive coming out of here,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. “Armon Fletcher came to play a basketball game. We saw a side of him we haven’t quite seen. I really liked that. That was encouraging and we have to hope that will spread to the other guys.”

After making five of their first six shots and leading by as many as nine points, the Salukis went stone cold during the final eight minutes of the half, missing their last 11 shots and falling behind, 43-29, at the break. Meanwhile, the Crusaders’ confidence snowballed and carried over into the second half when they made seven of their first eight shots.

“When you go in at halftime and you’re up 14 and you’ve lost every game in the Valley, you start feeling ok, now we’re pretty good,” Hinson said. “It’s kind of like pouring kerosene on a fire and that’s what we did.”

The Salukis fell behind by as many as 22 points in the second half and only a late flurry of threes in the last two minutes kept the final score from becoming a blowout.

“I did see it — I saw it coming into this game,” Hinson said. “I threw them out of practice yesterday. I was upset. They were taking things for granted. We deserved everything we got today.”

Defensively, Southern locked down Valpo star guard Tevonn Walker, holding him to three points on 1-of-10 shooting, but his supporting cast stepped up, as five different players scored double figures for the Crusaders. With 17 points, Max Joseph more than doubled his scoring average for the season, while Bakari Evelyn had 14 points and made 4-of-5 from long range.

Valpo’s 7-foot twin towers of Derrik Smits (11 points) and Jaume Sorolla (17 points) were a force inside. They combined to make 9-of-13 from the field.

“Their big guys just killed our big guys,” Hinson acknowledged. “Our big guys were 7-for-21 with four rebounds.”

SIU’s hot and cold season continued. They haven’t won or lost more than three games in a row.

“We can’t handle success,” Hinson said. “We win one game and we think we’re invincible. That’s our biggest opponent right now is our head.”

Hinson said he’s looking for a player to step up and lead.

“We have zero leadership going on right now with our team,” he said. “We’re searching for that guy. I don’t know who it is. I thought I did, but we somebody’s got to step forward and be a leader for us.”