By Tom Weber, SIU Sports Information
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — In a thrilling Missouri Valley Conference tilt, Armon Fletcher banked home the game-winner on the right baseline with six seconds left to lift Southern Illinois to a heart-stopping 79-77 win over Missouri State on Saturday.
The Salukis (14-9, 6-4) blistered the nets by shooting 64 percent from the field, including 8-of-13 from 3-point range. They led by as many as 13, but had to hold off a furious comeback by the Bears (15-8, 5-5), who twice tied the game in the final 90 seconds.
Alize Johnson had a 29-point, 12-rebound effort for Missouri State and tied the game, 77-77, with a pair of free throws with 34 seconds to go. Southern did not call a timeout, instead running a play that found center Kavion Pippen posted up with under 10 seconds remaining. He dished to Fletcher on the baseline for the bucket.
“We wanted to run a play on the fly,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. “How big a deal is it when you can make a pass to a center, and he can make an assist-pass for a go-ahead basket?”
Missouri State still had six seconds to tie or take the lead as Ronnie Rousseau pushed the ball ahead to Jarrid Rhodes, who launched a 3-pointer that was off the mark and appeared to come after the horn sounded anyway.
“I’ve seen it go both ways,” said MSU head coach Paul Lusk. “You can call a timeout and coach them up and draw something up, then you can’t get the ball in and execute. I believe in letting our guys go. Probably got to get all the way to the rim.”
Five players scored in double figures for Southern, led by Fletcher’s 18. Pippen had 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Tyler Smithpeters buried his first four 3-point shots and had 14 points, while Aaron Cook (11) and Marcus Bartley(10) also had solid offensive games for a Saluki team that made 30-of-47 shots.
Harrisburg’s Tyler Smithpeters pulls up for a three in Southern’s big win over Missouri State (Andrew Case – SIU Media Services)
Southern was almost unstoppable in the first half to the tune of 17-of-23 field goals (73.9). It was the second-best shooting half during the Barry Hinson era at SIU and 11th-best all-time. The Salukis made 6-of-9 from 3-point in the half.
“We couldn’t guard them,” Lusk said. “They really put us in a bind. Their size at the guards, the big kid down low.”
SIU head coach Barry Hinson continued his mastery over the school that fired him in 2009, beating MSU for the sixth-straight time.
“We played about as efficient as we can play,” Hinson beamed.
Picked to win the league title, the Bears are reeling, having lost five of their last seven games. Their woes were compounded this week when two players — Reggie Scurry and Abdul Fofana — suffered serious skin blistering during a team cryotherapy treatment. They are expected to be sidelined for several weeks.
“I’m really pleased with my guys the way they fought,” Lusk said. “We didn’t hang our head. It wasn’t going easy with the way they were scoring the basketball, but we had a chance.”
With the victory, Hinson claimed win No. 262 as a Missouri Valley Conference head coach, passing Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall for fourth place overall. More importantly, the Salukis moved into a tie for second place with Drake in the MVC standings. SIU plays the Bulldogs in Des Moines on Tuesday.
“It’s a helluva victory for us — we needed this, we needed a road win,” said Fletcher.
Box Score
http://siusalukis.com/boxscore.aspx?id=8034&path=mbball
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