by John Lock siusalukis.com

Tuesday, March 6 » at Southeast Missouri (3-9)
Wednesday, March 7 » at Murray State (7-5)

Southern Illinois travels to Southeast Missouri and Murray State for a pair of mid-week battles. The Salukis face SEMO on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and Murray State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. SCHEDULE NOTE: Wednesday’s game at Murray State was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. but was moved up one hour due to weather concerns. First pitch on Wednesday will now be at 3 p.m. CT.

GAME 1 – Tuesday, March 6, at Southeast Missouri // 6 p.m. // Listen | Live Stats

SIU LHP Brad Harrison (2-0, 1.93 ERA, 14.0 IP)
SEMO RHP Ashton Holyfield (0-0, 2.89 ERA, 9.1 IP)

GAME 2 – Wednesday, March 7, at Murray State // 3 p.m. // Watch | Live Stats

SIU RHP Dylan Givens (0-0, 10.80 ERA, 1.2 IP)
MUR LHP Luke Brown (0-1, 10.12 ERA, 5.1 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

• Southern Illinois travels to SEMO and Murray State in mid-week action. The Salukis face SEMO on Tuesday, March 6, at 6 p.m.
• SCHEDULE NOTE: The SIU-Murray State game has bee pushed up one hour due to weather concerns. First pitch will be at 3 p.m. (was originally scheduled for 4 p.m.)
• The Salukis and Redhawks are facing off for the 85th time. SIU leads the all-time series 54-29-1. The Salukis and Racers are facing off for the 69th time. SIU leads the all-time series 46-22.
• SIU won both games against SEMO last year. The Salukis were 3-10 in mid-week games last year, with two of those wins coming over SEMO. Murray State swept two games from SIU last year.
• The Salukis are 2-0 in mid-week games this year, with wins over Austin Peay and Belmont. SIU has a chance to tie or exceed last season’s mid-week win total (3-10).
• Brad Harrison, who is scheduled to start Tuesday at SEMO, is the reigning MVC Pitcher of the Week. He threw a two-hit shutout last week at Belmont, striking out 11. He didn’t allow a Belmont runner to advance past second base and threw seven perfect innings, including 17-straight batters retired to end the game.
• Dylan Givens, who is scheduled to start Wednesday at Murray State, is making his first career start. Givens, a John A. Logan transfer, has pitched 1.2 innings this year in two appearances. Givens started seven games at John A. Logan in 2017.
• Southern’s offense hit .367 in the weekend series against Louisiana Monroe. Eight players hit .300 or better in the series, led by Nikola Vasic(6-for-11 // .545) and Connor Kopach(8-for-15 // .533). As a team, SIU hit more than 100 points higher than ULM (.367 compared to .264).

MVC LEADERS

Team in sacrifice flies (9)
Team in stolen bases (14)
Team in fewest walks allowed (36)
Connor Kopach in hits (20)
Kopach in stolen bases (9)
Logan Blackfan in home runs (4)
Addison Fugitt and Alex Lyon in sacrifice flies (2)
Brad Harrison in opposing batting average (.125)
Trey McDaniel in appearances (6)

From the Missouri Valley Conference 

ST. LOUIS – Southern Illinois sophomore Brad Harrison was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Monday afternoon. Harrison pitched a two-hit shutout at Belmont on Tuesday night.

Harrison threw a complete-game shutout in just 92 pitches. He did not allow a Belmont player to reach third base, and he only went to one three-ball count in the game. Harrison struck out a career-high 11 batters against just one walk. Ten of Harrison’s 11 strikeouts came in a string of 17-straight Belmont hitters retired to end the game. Harrison pitched seven perfect innings, including the final five.

The complete-game shutout was the first for an SIU pitcher since Michael Baird threw a one-hitter against Illinois in March 2016. Harrison is the first SIU player to earn a weekly award from the MVC this season. He is the seventh SIU pitcher to earn an MVC Pitcher of the Week honor under head coach Ken Henderson and associate head coach P.J. Finigan. Last year, Southern earned three MVC Pitcher of the Year honors (Ryan Netemeyer once and Chad Whitmer twice).

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Louisiana Monroe completed a three-game sweep of the Southern Illinois baseball team on Sunday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium. The Warhawks scored four runs in the second inning and improved to 9-2 on the season after going 12-42 in 2017. SIU (3-8) outhit ULM 15-8 but stranded 12 runners.

The Salukis loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning with nobody out but did not score. Then, in the top of the second inning, ULM scored four runs on four hits and an error to seize the lead and momentum. The game mirrored Saturday’s loss, when the Salukis took a 2-0 lead before allowing a seven-run second inning.

“In six different games, we’re one inning away from winning,” SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. “Now, we have to clean up that inning. We had the second inning today and the second inning yesterday. In four of our previous losses, we had leads in the eighth inning and didn’t hold on. Again, we have to clean that up. Some of it is our own doing, and some of it is not. This ball club has great makeup and great chemistry. There is no doubt in my mind that we will keep grinding and figure it out. I’ve given the team a couple examples of ball clubs that didn’t play well early and then got it going. I truly believe this team is going to do that. This club is going to get it going and win a lot of baseball games.”

Southern’s bullpen kept SIU in the game. Noah Farmer, a freshman, entered in the third inning. He threw 3.1 innings of two-hit baseball, allowing just one run while striking out three. He gave way to Allen Montgomery, who retired the first eight ULM hitters he faced. Montgomery ran into trouble in the ninth, but Trey McDaniel limited the damage.

“Our bullpen did a phenomenal job,” Henderson said. “They only had two hits in innings three through eight. Our bullpen threw up zeros. When you take your starter out after the second inning, you need guys to go in there, eat up innings, and throw up zeros. Farmer, Montgomery and McDaniel all did a great job. I’m extremely proud of our bullpen.”

Southern’s offense pounded out 15 hits and had at least one base runner in eight of its nine innings. All nine spots in the order reached base at least one time. Leadoff hitter Connor Kopach was outstanding, going 4-for-5. He created Southern’s first run in the third inning. After a one-out single, Kopach stole second and third, and he scored on Nikola Vasic‘s sacrifice fly.

ULM expanded its lead to 5-1 in the fourth, but SIU got the run back in the bottom half. Kenton Crawford drew a leadoff walk and Hunter Anderson followed with a single. After a fielder’s choice, Addison Fugitt scored Crawford with a sacrifice fly. Kopach singled, but the inning ended with Austin Ulick being thrown out at the plate. SIU put runners in scoring position in each of the final four frames, but ULM made the defensive plays to preserve its lead.

“This will start going our way, too,” Henderson said. “If seems like when you’re not winning, every ball they hit is just out of your reach; and every ball we hit is just within their reach. That’s the way it seems sometimes, but that will turn. It won’t be the case all year. This club will keep battling. You saw that last night, and you saw it again today. We got down, and there’s no quit.”

Despite being down 5-2, SIU brought the tying run to the plate in each of the final four innings. The Salukis got within 5-3 in the eighth after another Kopach RBI single. But Monroe answered with two runs in the top of the ninth to push the lead to 7-4. Again, SIU battled back. With two outs and nobody on, Southern strung together three-straight singles to bring the tying run to the plate with Kopach on deck, but a strikeout ended the game.

“We battled hard until the end and gave ourselves a chance,” Henderson said. “It was a lot like yesterday. We had a lot of hits, but we couldn’t get the key hit with runners in scoring position. We had better ABs today with runners in scoring position; we just couldn’t get that hit that busted it open. I’m extremely proud of how hard we grinded. We got the tying run to the plate

By Anthony McDaniel – siusalukis.com 

Pitching, defense and a big boost from the Saluki freshmen led SIU to an 8-0 win over Murray State on the final day of the Coach B Classic.

“Today we played very well in all phases of the game, Bri threw very well. Savannah Fisher had some great defensive plays and I thought we hit the ball very well,” head coach Kerri Blaylock said.

The game remained scoreless through two innings, but in the top of the third, the Saluki bats came alive. Freshman Jenny Jansen started things off with a one-out double. One batter later, an error by the Racer shortstop allowed Jansen to score and for sophomore Kyleigh Deckerto go to second. Two batters later, freshman Megan Brown hit a double to score Decker from second. Two batters later, senior Savannah Fisher singled with two on to score Brown from second. Sophomore Maddy Vermejan closed the scoring in the inning when she singled in a bases loaded situation to score freshman Shelby Hodo off of an error by the Racer short stop. Southern led 4-0 at the end of the third and never looked back.

An inning later, senior Sydney Jones hit a two out double. Her double was followed by a single from Brown that scored Jones from second.

Brown was pinch ran for by fellow freshman Maris Boelens, but Brown made a huge impact on the game in just four innings going 3-3 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored. She hit .800 on the weekend with a double, 2 RBI and 2 walks.

Later in the fourth inning Hodo doubled to left center to score Boelens from second to make the score 6-0.

In the top of the sixth Boelens recorded a sacrifice RBI to the first baseman that scored Decker from third. Hodo recorded another RBI in the next at bat, this time off of a sacrifice fly to left to score senior Sydney Jones from third to make the score 8-0.

The Salukis freshmen combined to go 5-7 with five RBI, three doubles and four runs scored.

“We play a lot of freshmen and sophomore. They’re going to be a part of our lineup,” Baylock said. “It’s good to see them produce and get comfortable.”

While the Saluki offense wasn’t blowing up Racer pitching, starting pitcher Brianna Jones was keeping the Racer bats silent. She threw a six inning complete game allowing five hits striking out six and walking none. Jones improved to 8-1 on the season and has an ERA of 2.09.

The Saluki defense had its pitcher’s back throughout the whole game playing flawlessly in the game. Fisher led the way recording four assists at shortstop. Fisher committed two errors in a game against Michigan State on Feb. 18 and since has committed just one and recorded a total of 13 assists and 12 putouts.

“The thing about Fisher is the whole time last year at short stop she recorded five or six errors, which is just unreal for a college short stop,” Blaylock said. “We asked her to settle down and no matter what she’s doing at the plate, we want her to play great defense. Today was really something special out of her.”

With the win Southern improved to 9-8 on the season and won two of the last three following a tough start to the Coach B Classic on Friday. Blaylock said that she was pleased her team showed it can bounce back so well.

Overall, this year’s winner of the Coach B Classic was Illinois. The Illini won all five of its games. The weather gave the tournament a break providing clear skies and warm temperatures for early March.

“I love how well the tournament went,” Blaylock said. “When you get like this people want to come back and play here. I feel like our staff, facilities, our groundskeeper, everybody does such a great job and it makes people want to come here. It allows us to save money and gives our kids a chance to stay at home.”

The Salukis hit the road again this next weekend when they head to Tampa for the USF Under Armour Showcase hosted by South Florida. Southern will play five games throughout the weekend.

By William Becque  siusalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois women’s basketball team celebrated senior day with a 66-41 win over the Evansville Purple Aces Saturday afternoon inside SIU Arena.

The Salukis (16-13, 11-7 MVC) were led by their lone senior, Kylie Giebelhausen. Giebelhausen moved into ninth on SIU’s all-time scoring list and recorded her 300th career assist, as she finished with nine points and three assists in 29 minutes.

“It was a little bit surreal,” said Giebelhausen of her final regular season game. “I’m proud of what I’ve done here. I know some of my family members, my mom and some of my cousins especially, were emotional because they’ve been following me since I was a kid but I can’t really complain plus we got a win.”

SIU led from wire-to-wire in the win over Evansville (3-26, 0-18 MVC) as Southern got out to a 9-2 lead after five minutes of play and never looked back. The Purple Aces got to within one, 11-10 with 2:48 to play in the first, but Southern scored six-straight points and built a 13-point lead (32-19) at the half.

SIU doubled up Evansville in the third quarter, as the Salukis outscored the Purple Aces, 20-to-10 in the frame, with 14 of SIU’s 20 points coming in the paint. With a comfortable lead, Southern turned the game over to its reserves for the final 10 minutes.

The Salukis consistently worked the shot clock and utilized good ball movement throughout their regular-season finale, as SIU racked up 13 assists to just four turnovers.

“We wanted to work our offenses and share the ball,” fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein said of her team’s game plan going into Saturday’s contest. “Our ball movement needed to be better then it had been and I think we got that done.”

SIU’s four turnovers ties a school record low and are the fewest in a game by the Salukis in 10 years. Southern recorded just four giveaways in a 75-74 overtime win over Creighton on Jan. 20, 2008, and also tallied just four turnovers against Memphis State on March 17, 1983.

Three Salukis reached double figures in the win, led by Nicole Martin. Martin scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half and added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in 17 minutes. It marked the sixth-straight game in which Martin has reached double figures, and the 22nd time she has done so this season.

Abby Brockmeyer notched her fifth career double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while Brittney Patrick added 10 points, four boards and two steals. Brockmeyer’s five double-doubles are tied with Mary Berghuis for the second-most by a freshman in program history.

All 11 Salukis who dressed played at least nine minutes and 10 of 11 scored. Southern won the rebounding battle, 39-to-32, which included 16 offensive boards.

Southern will now turn its attention to the 2018 MVC Tournament and Indiana State. The Salukis swept the season series against the Sycamores, including Thursday night’s 54-43 win.

When you’re trying to beat someone for the third time you have to find a way to win,” Stein said. “They’re going to do something different, you don’t know what its going to be. They have a week of practice, we have a week of practice. We’ll tweak a few things, they’ll tweak a few things. It’s going to be another gritty ballgame and we are looking forward to it.”

The Salukis are next in action at next week’s MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill. Southern, who holds the No. 4 seed, will take on Indiana State on Friday, March 9 at 2:30 p.m.

By Tom Weber  – 

ST LOUIS, MO — Illinois State made all three of its field goals and 14-of-15 free throws in overtime to overcome Southern Illinois, 76-68, in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday.

Forward Phil Fayne did the bulk of the damage for the Redbirds (18-14) with half of his game-high 26 points coming in OT. ISU eliminated the Salukis (20-13) in the semis for the second straight year.

“We had to gut it out, as usual,” said Illinois State head coach Dan Muller. “You feel like you didn’t play your best, but we found a way to win. Phil was obviously huge down the stretch. A lot of guys made big plays.”

So many of Southern’s games this season came down to the wire and today was no different. The Salukis trailed in this contest for all but four minutes and were down seven at halftime, but clawed their way back with gritty defense and some timely shots by Marcus Bartley. He scored all 10 of his points in the second half and his 3-pointer at 11:59 gave SIU its first lead of the half, 45-44. Aaron Cook made a pull-up jumper at 10:17 to make it 47-44, but that was the high-water mark for Southern.

William Tinsley tied the game, 47-47, with a 3-pointer with 9:47 remaining. The Redbirds extended their lead to 54-49 with 6:36 to go, but neither team scored during the next three minutes until SIU’s Armon Fletcher‘s buried a trey from the right corner to make it 54-52 with 3:40 left.

With the score tied, 56-56, during the final frantic minute of regulation, Cook missed a desperation 3-pointer for SIU as the shot clock expired at the 44-second mark, and ISU’s Milik Yarbrough missed two potential go-ahead shots in the final 11 seconds, sending the game to an extra five minutes.

Unfortunately for Southern, center Kavion Pippen fouled out in the final minute of regulation, finishing the game with seven points. The Salukis went with a small lineup in overtime, and Illinois State made them pay, pounding the ball into Fayne, who was unstoppable.

“The game was over when K.P. went out,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. “I have no magic wands. I was wanting Harry Potter to show up where I could go, foom! You’re bigger.”

Southern took a brief lead in OT, 59-58, on a 3-pointer by Armon Fletcher, but ISU countered with a 12-2 run.

“You lose a game like that, a close game, it hurts a lot,” said Fletcher, who tied Sean Lloyd for the team lead in scoring with 15 points. “So you just keep thinking about during the game, what plays led to that situation for them to have the opportunity to win a game. It just replays in your head the whole time.”

Illinois State will make its third championship game appearance in four years when it plays regular-season champion Loyola tomorrow. Muller was asked how much gas was left in the tank after a grinding OT game with Southern.

“Look, these kids are fine, they’re 21 years old, they’ll be all right physically,” he said. “Can they handle the mental part of it? There’s pressure on both teams, same for us, same for Loyola.”

Meanwhile, Southern’s season came to an end in St. Louis for the 10th-straight season. The Salukis won 20 games for the second time in three years, finished second in the standings, and Hinson was already looking ahead to next season.

“Illinois State will probably be picked first, but we’re going to be in the top three,” he said. “We finished second
outright (this year). I mean, we’ve taken a step. We’ve got good players. And the majority of them are back next year.”

Box Score

http://siusalukis.com/boxscore.aspx?id=8213&path=mbball

From The Missouri Valley Conference

Bradley vs Drake
3/2/18 2:38 PM CT at Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO

Bradley 63

			Total	3-point		Rebounds
##	Player	p	fgm-fga	fgm-fga	ftm-fta	off-def	tot	pf	tp	a	to	blk	stl	min
01	Thomas, Donte	f	6-9	0-0	1-5	7-7	14	2	13	2	1	2	1	28
12	Bar, Koch	c	1-1	0-0	0-0	2-1	3	3	2	2	3	1	2	19
05	Brown, Darrell	g	9-20	4-10	2-2	0-0	0	1	24	2	2	0	0	33
23	Lautier-Ogunleye, D.	g	3-6	0-1	4-4	1-2	3	2	10	2	0	0	0	34
25	Kennell, Nate	g	2-8	1-5	0-0	0-6	6	2	5	2	0	0	0	32
02	Lundy, Luqman	–	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
10	Childs, Elijah	–	3-9	0-0	0-0	2-6	8	2	6	0	1	1	0	22
21	Stipanovich, Ryan	–	1-1	1-1	0-0	1-0	1	1	3	0	0	0	0	10
35	Hodgson, Jayden	–	0-2	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	21
TM	TEAM	–	–	–	–	1-3	4	–	–	–	2	–	–	–
	Totals…………..	–	25-56	6-18	7-11	14-25	39	15	63	11	9	4	4	200
			44.6%	33.3%	63.6%
	Team summary:		FG	3FG	FT
	1st Half:		10-22	3-9	4-4
			45.5%	33.3%	100 %
	2nd Half:		15-34	3-9	3-7
			44.1%	33.3%	42.9%

Drake 61

			Total	3-point		Rebounds
##	Player	p	fgm-fga	fgm-fga	ftm-fta	off-def	tot	pf	tp	a	to	blk	stl	min
35	McGlynn, Nick	f	4-9	0-0	1-4	4-5	9	2	9	0	0	3	0	30
00	Rivers, C.J.	g	1-1	0-0	2-2	0-4	4	2	4	7	1	0	2	30
04	McMurray, De’Antae	g	3-8	1-3	2-2	0-3	3	4	9	1	1	0	1	26
12	Timmer, Reed	g	6-16	3-9	3-3	0-1	1	0	18	3	2	0	0	38
23	Arogundade, Ore	g	1-3	0-2	0-0	0-1	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	21
02	Gibbs, Jalen	–	0-1	0-1	0-0	1-0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4
03	Woodward, Graham	–	3-10	3-8	0-0	0-2	2	2	9	0	0	0	0	25
14	Thomas, Noah	–	3-5	2-3	0-0	1-0	1	1	8	0	0	0	0	16
22	Schlatter, Casey	–	0-0	0-0	2-2	1-3	4	1	2	1	0	1	1	10
TM	TEAM	–	–	–	–	2-0	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Totals…………..	–	21-53	9-26	10-13	9-19	28	12	61	13	5	4	4	200
			39.6%	34.6%	76.9%
	Team summary:		FG	3FG	FT
	1st Half:		14-29	6-13	1-2
			48.3%	46.2%	50.0%
	2nd Half:		7-24	3-13	9-11
			29.2%	23.1%	81.8%

Score by Periods	1st	2nd	Total
Bradley	27	36	63	Record: (20-12; 9-9 MVC)
Drake	35	26	61	Record: (16-16; 10-8 MVC)

Points in the paint-BRAD 32,DU 20. Points off turnovers-BRAD 7,DU 6.

2nd chance points-BRAD 14,DU 13. Fast break points-BRAD 2,DU 6.

Bench points-BRAD 9,DU 19. Score tied-6 times. Lead changed-7 times.

Last FG-BRAD 2nd-00:01, DU 2nd-06:29.

Largest lead-BRAD by 6 2nd-12:20, DU by 8 1st-14:58.

BRAD led for 10:39. DU led for 23:19. Game was tied for 06:02.

Officials: Tom Eades, Gerry Pollard, Paul Janssen Technical fouls: Bradley-None. Drake-None. Attendance: 6410

UNI vs Loyola
3/2/18 12:08 PM CT at Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO

UNI 50

			Total	3-point		Rebounds
##	Player	p	fgm-fga	fgm-fga	ftm-fta	off-def	tot	pf	tp	a	to	blk	stl	min
02	Carlson, Klint	f	1-6	0-1	0-0	3-12	15	4	2	1	2	2	0	36
25	Koch, Bennett	f	8-14	0-0	4-5	0-4	4	1	20	2	2	1	0	29
04	Pickford, Tywhon	g	2-6	0-2	0-0	2-5	7	1	4	0	1	0	0	34
21	Rhodes, Hunter	g	4-9	1-3	0-0	0-3	3	2	9	2	0	0	0	32
24	Brown, Isaiah	g	1-5	1-4	0-0	0-2	2	1	3	3	4	0	1	28
03	Friedman, Ted	–	1-2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	5
30	Haldeman, Spencer	–	0-2	0-2	0-0	0-1	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	8
33	Lohaus, Wyatt	–	3-7	2-4	2-2	0-0	0	4	10	2	1	0	0	28
TM	TEAM	–	–	–	–	1-0	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Totals…………..	–	20-51	4-16	6-7	6-27	33	14	50	11	10	3	2	200
			39.2%	25.0%	85.7%
	Team summary:		FG	3FG	FT
	1st Half:		9-22	1-5	2-3
			40.9%	20.0%	66.7%
	2nd Half:		11-29	3-11	4-4
			37.9%	27.3%	100 %

Loyola 54

			Total	3-point		Rebounds
##	Player	p	fgm-fga	fgm-fga	ftm-fta	off-def	tot	pf	tp	a	to	blk	stl	min
00	Ingram, Donte	f	5-7	3-4	0-0	0-8	8	0	13	0	0	0	0	35
25	Krutwig, Cameron	f	4-7	0-0	0-0	0-4	4	2	8	0	0	3	0	20
05	Townes, Marques	g	6-12	0-4	1-2	0-4	4	0	13	3	1	0	1	31
13	Custer, Clayton	g	1-7	0-1	0-2	0-1	1	2	2	3	3	0	0	34
14	Richardson, Ben	g	4-7	1-3	0-0	0-1	1	1	9	6	1	1	4	34
01	Williamson, Lucas	–	0-4	0-4	2-2	0-2	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	18
04	Skokna, Bruno	–	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
23	Satterwhite, Cameron	–	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	6
24	Jackson, Aundre	–	3-8	0-1	1-1	2-1	3	1	7	1	1	0	0	20
TM	TEAM	–	–	–	–	2-5	7	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Totals…………..	–	23-52	4-17	4-7	4-26	30	8	54	14	7	4	5	200
			44.2%	23.5%	57.1%
	Team summary:		FG	3FG	FT
	1st Half:		11-27	2-8	1-1
			40.7%	25.0%	100 %
	2nd Half:		12-25	2-9	3-6
			48.0%	22.2%	50.0%

Score by Periods	1st	2nd	Total
UNI	21	29	50	Record: (16-16; 7-11 MVC)
Loyola	25	29	54	Record: (26-5; 15-3 MVC)

Points in the paint-UNI 24,LUC 32. Points off turnovers-UNI 2,LUC 14.

2nd chance points-UNI 6,LUC 2. Fast break points-UNI 0,LUC 6.

Bench points-UNI 12,LUC 9. Score tied-6 times. Lead changed-6 times.

Last FG-UNI 2nd-00:03, LUC 2nd-00:57.

Largest lead-UNI by 6 1st-09:42, LUC by 8 2nd-03:35.

UNI led for 15:56. LUC led for 18:36. Game was tied for 05:28.

Officials: Mike Stuart, Kipp Kissinger, Randy Heimerman Technical fouls: UNI-None. Loyola-None. Attendance:

 

Marcus Bartley, Aaron Cook named Second Team.

 

From the Missouri Valley Conference 

 

ST. LOUIS — Clayton Custer of Loyola and Reed Timmer of Drake highlight a list of 15 student-athletes honored as part of the 2018 MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams, announced by the league office.  For the first time in league history, two student-athletes share the top honor as both are being recognized as the MVC Enterprise Bank and Trust Scholar-Athlete of the Year.  Voting for the 2018 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team was conducted by league’s sports information directors.

Timmer is the first in league history to win the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award three times (three others have won it twice.)  And Custer, who earlier this week was named the Larry Bird Trophy winner, is the fourth MVC Player of the Year to win the league’s top athletic honor and top academic honor (joining Jamaal Tatum of Southern Illinois in 2007; Adam Emmenecker of Drake in 2008; and Adam Koch of UNI in 2010).  Timmer leads Drake in scoring and is second in the MVC with 19.6 points per game.  Earlier this season he became Drake’s all-time leading scorer.  Custer, meanwhile, is also his team’s top scorer, and he ranks in the Top 10 in scoring, field goal percentage, assists, assist:turnover ratio, free throw percentage, steals, three-point field goal percentage, three-pointers made per game and minutes played.

Custer and Timmer are joined on the first-team unit by Blake Simmons of Evansville; Ben Richardson of Loyola and Nick McGlynn of Drake.

The criteria for the Missouri Valley Conference’s Scholar-Athlete Team voting parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting.  Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average (4.0 scale).  Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen were not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.  He must have played in 75 percent of his team’s games.