Armon Fletcher, Kavion Pippen, Sean Lloyd earn Valley awards on Tuesday
By Tom Weber, siusalukis.com
ST LOUIS, MO- The first round of Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball awards were released on Tuesday morning and three Southern Illinois players — Armon Fletcher, Kavion Pippen and Sean Lloyd Jr. — were recognized by voters.
A 6-foot-5 junior guard, Fletcher was named Second-Team All-MVC. Since the Salukis switched to a four-guard offense on Dec. 13 and moved Fletcher to the “hybrid forward” position, the team is 15-8 and his stats have shot up. He finished the regular season as the team’s leading scorer with 14.2 points per contest. Fletcher had a career night at Valparaiso on Jan. 6 with 32 points and 14 rebounds. He made the game-winning basket at Missouri State with six seconds left, and the go-ahead 3-pointer versus Valparaiso with less than a minute left on Feb. 3.
Pippen picked up Third-Team All-MVC and All-Newcomer Team honors. The 6-foot-10 junior college transfer has been one of Southern’s most consistent players, scoring in double figures in all but seven of the team’s 31 games. He averages 12.3 points and leads the team in rebounding (5.8) and blocked shots (39).
Lloyd was tabbed for the All-Defensive team. He averages 11.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals. The 6-foot-5 junior is third in the league in minutes played per game (34.4) and is usually assigned to guard the opponent’s top scorer.
Specialty awards, including the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, will be announced at 2 p.m. today.
2018 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Team
First Team Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown
Clayton Custer, Loyola Jr. G 6-1 Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest
Alize Johnson, Missouri St. Sr. F 6-9 Williamsport (Pa.) St. John Neumann
Ryan Taylor, Evansville Jr. G 6-6 Gary (Ind.) St. John’s Northwestern Military
Reed Timmer, Drake Sr. G 6-1 New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower
Milik Yarbrough, Illinois St. Jr. F 6-6 Zion (Ill.) Zion-Benton Township
Second Team
Jordan Barnes, Indiana St. So. G 5-11 St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers
Phil Fayne, Illinois State Jr. F 6-9 Elk Grove (Calif.) Franklin
Armon Fletcher, S. Illinois Jr. G 6-5 Edwardsville (Ill.) Edwardsville
Donte Ingram, Loyola G/F Sr. 6-6 Chicago (Ill.) Simeon
Donte Thomas, Bradley Sr. F 6-7 Calumet City (Ill.) Thornwood
Third Team
Darrell Brown, Bradley So. G 5-10 Memphis (Tenn.) Germantown
Bennett Koch, UNI Sr. F 6-10 Ashwaubenon (Wis.) Ashwaubenon
Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Fr. C 6-9 Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs
Kavion Pippen, S. Illinois Jr. C 6-10 Hamburg (Ark.) Hamburg Three Rivers CC
Brenton Scott, Indiana St. Sr. G 6-1 Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrop
All-Newcomer Team
Bakari Evelyn, Valparaiso So. G 6-2 Detroit (Mich.) Hillcrest (Ariz.) Academy
Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Fr. C 6-9 Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs
Tywhon Pickford, UNI Fr. G 6-4 Minneapolis (Minn.) Maple Grove
Kavion Pippen, S. Illinois Jr. C 6-10 Hamburg (Ark.) Hamburg Three Rivers CC
Milik Yarbrough, Illinois St. Jr. F 6-6 Zion (Ill.) Zion-Benton Township
All-Freshman Team
Elijah Childs, Bradley F 6-7 Kansas City (Mo.) Lee’s Summit West
Tyreke Key, Indiana State G 6-2 Celina (Tenn.) Clay County
Cameron Krutwig, Loyola C 6-9 Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs
Tywhon Pickford, UNI G 6-4 Minneapolis (Minn.) Maple Grove
Lucas Williamson, Loyola G 6-4 Chicago (Ill.) Whitney Young
All-Defensive Team
Obediah Church, Missouri St. Jr. F 6-7 Springfield (Ill.) Springfield
Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, BU Jr. G 6-4 London (England) Bristol Academy
Sean Lloyd, Southern Illinois Jr. G 6-5 Philadelphia (Pa.) Mt. Zion (Md.) Prep
Ben Richardson, Loyola Sr. G 6-3 Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest
Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso Sr. G 6-2 Montreal (Quebec) Vanier College
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