Barry Hinson finishes third in the balloting

 

 

ST LOUIS – Loyola University head coach Porter Moser was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year at a State Farm MVC Tournament luncheon on Thursday.  Moser, in his seventh year at Loyola, has guided the Ramblers to their first outright regular-season conference title since 1984-85.  He is the first Loyola bench boss to be named conference coach of the year regardless of league, since Gene Sullivan in 1984-85, and the first Loyola coach to win the honor in the MVC (Loyola is in its fifth season in the Conference.)

This season has been the most successful in Rogers Park in over 30 years and Moser has piloted the program to its most wins (25) in the regular season since 1947-48, when it went 26-9. In addition, the Ramblers set a new program standard with 15 league wins, surpassing the previous total of 13 set by the 1984-85 squad. In December, Moser led Loyola to a 65-59 victory at No. 5 Florida, the program’s first win over a top-five team since 1984.

Moser became one of only five individuals in league history to win a MVC regular-season title as both a player and a head coach thanks to this year’s regular-season championship. With a 102-78 victory over UNC Wilmington on November 24, Moser recorded his 200th career victory as a head coach and this season also became just the sixth coach in Loyola history to steer the Ramblers to 100 wins.

He has recruited and mentored two MVC Freshman of the Year selections in Milton Doyle and Cameron Krutwig during his Loyola tenure, as well as 2018 Larry Bird Trophy winner as the MVC Player of the Year, Clayton Custer. This season, Moser helped develop Ben Richardson into the MVC Defensive Player of the Year, while five different players collected a total of 12 postseason awards from the league.

Loyola opens up Arch Madness Friday (March 2) at noon versus the winner of this evening’s No. 8 Evansville versus No. 9 UNI game. The Ramblers are seeking their first NCAA Tournament berth since reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1984-85.

Clayton Custer of Loyola Earns 2018 Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year Honor

From the Missouri Valley Conference 

ST. LOUIS — The 2018 MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year is junior Clayton Custer of Loyola.  Custer has engineered the Ramblers to one of the most historic seasons in school history, which includes a 25-5 overall mark and 15-3 MVC record.  Loyola became just the 11th MVC school since World War II to win the league title with a four-game advantage over the second-place team, and the Ramblers have earned their most wins since the 1984-85 squad reached the Sweet 16 and went 27-6.

Custer received 125 total points to outdistance Alize Johnson of Missouri State (55 points) and Drake’s Reed Timmer (52 points).  Four different student-athletes received first-place tallies, including Custer, Johnson, Timmer, and Milik Yarbrough of Illinois State. Voting was conducted by coaches, sports information directors and a media panel (voters could not vote for their own student-athlete.)  Including this year, 0 freshmen, 2 sophomores, 17 juniors (seven of whom repeated) and 31 seniors have won the award (spanning 1969-2018).

The junior guard from Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest High leads the Ramblers in a host of categories, including scoring (14.2 ppg), three-point percentage (.462), assists (106) and steals (42).  He ranks among the league’s Top 10 in those four categories as well as field goal percentage (.544), free throw percentage (.806) and three-point field goals made per game (1.9).  After missing five games due to an ankle injury, Custer returned to action at UNI on Jan. 7 and the team has lost just once since.  Notably, Loyola has gone 23-2 when Custer has played this season, compared to 2-3 when he was sidelined.  The regular-season title is the first for Loyola as an MVC member (joined the Conference for the 2013-14 season), and Custer is the first Rambler to earn the league’s top player honor.

Custer and Ben Richardson were high school teammates at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park and helped the program to back-to-back state titles and a remarkable 94-6 record during their four-year careers. They have competed on the same team since the third grade.  Richardson joins Custer as a top award winner, too, as he is the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.  Richardson also missed significant playing time this year (10 games with a broken hand).  A top perimeter defender, Richardson typically garners the toughest assignment on defense for the Ramblers.  For the season, Richardson recorded 22 steals and eight blocked shots while helping the Ramblers to the best scoring defense in MVC games (61.6 points per game allowed).  Loyola also ranked among the MVC Top 5 in field goal percentage defense and in three-point percentage defense.  He’s the first Loyola player to earn MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors.  The league began selecting a Defensive Player of the Year in 1989, and this marks Loyola’s fifth year in the Conference.

The league’s Freshman of the Year is another Rambler — Cameron Krutwig.  A native of Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs High, he becomes the second Rambler to earn the league’s top rookie honor (Milton Doyle in 2014).  The MVC began selecting a Freshman of the Year award in 1986.  Krutwig has scored in double digits in 12 of the last 13 outings and is the first Loyola freshman to score in double figures in 10 straight games since Doyle (11 games) in 2013-14.  He leads the MVC in field goal percentage (.603) and is sixth in rebounding average (6.3).  For the season he is averaging 10.8 points and has added 56 assists.

Illinois State’s Milik Yarbrough is the MVC Newcomer of the Year.  The native of Zion (Ill.) Zion-Benton Township High is a transfer from Saint Louis University.  He is averaging 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, and is the only active player in the country to average such numbers. If he continues those stats through the end of the season, he will be the 11th such player since 1992-93 to average those numbers or better.  He earned the league’s Newcomer of the Week award five times this season, more than any other player.  The MVC began its Newcomer of the Year program in 1969, and he joins Reggie Wilson (1991), Tarise Bryson (1999), Lorenzo Gordon (2005), Chamberlain Oguchi (2009) and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (2015) as ISU players to earn the honor.

The MVC also selects a “Sixth Man Award” reipient, and this season’s honor goes to Southern Illinois’ Tyler Smithpeters.  The honor is presented to the league’s top reserve player (one who has started fewer than 25 percent of his team’s games).  Smithpeters, a senior guard from Harrisburg (Ill.) High, is the fourth SIU player (Joshua Cross, 2000; LaMar Owen, 2004; Tony Young, 2005) to earn the award, first chosen in 1997.  While making just five starts in 31 SIU games, Smithpeters contributed 7.5 points per game and was second for SIU with 72 assists.  He’s hit a team best 45 three-point field goals.

In addition to the specialty awards, the conference announced its all-conference units (first-team, second-team, and third-team), all-newcomer team, all-freshman team, and all-defense team.  The all-bench and most-improved units have been selected by the league’s beat writers and will be announced Wednesday (February 28).  A complete listing of all-conference honorees and previous season specialty award winners is attached.

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

TALLAHASSEE, FL – After a rain delay today, Southern Illinois shot a 296 in the final round of the Seminole Intercollegiate to place eighth place out of 14 teams. SIU was 16-over par for the tournament and finished 36 strokes behind host and tournament champion Florida State.

The Salukis were led by Peyton Wilhoit (73-68-74), who was 1-under par and tied for 15th place. As a team, Southern had 31 birdies this weekend. Nine of those birdies were recorded by Wilhoit and eight came from Dirk Kuehler. Dean Harpe played as an individual and also had eight birdies.

The Salukis head back to Carbondale for a few weeks to prep for the South Florida Invitational on March 12-13.

TEAM SCORES
1. Florida State 287 270 287 = 844 -20
2. Jacksonville 278 287 288 = 853 -11
3. James Madison 282 284 289 = 855 -9
4. Cincinnati 290 284 286 = 860 -4
5. Arkansas State 287 285 294 = 866 +2
6. Illinois State 290 290 292 = 872 +8
7. Kansas State 286 295 294 = 875 +11
8. Southern Illinois 297 287 296 +16
9. West Virginia 291 289 303 = 880 +19
10. Troy 299 298 299 = 896 +32
11. Western Carolina 296 300 303 = 899 +35
12. Nicholls State 295 299 309 = 903 +39
13. Western Kentucky 296 302 306 = 904 +40
14. Winthrop 312 300 303 = 915 +51

SIU SCORES
T15. Peyton Wilhoit 73 68 74 = 215 -1
T32. Luke Gannon 71 74 75 = 220 +4
T41. Dirk Kuehler 78 73 73 = 224 +8
T55. Hunter York 83 72 74 = 229 +13
T62. Frankie Thomas 75 79 78 = 232 +16
*Individual 66. Dean Harpe 80 73 80 = 233 +17

By John Lock siusalukis.com

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Southern Illinois baseball team battled back from a 5-1 deficit to take a 6-5 lead, but North Florida answered with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the game 9-6 and the series 2-1.

SIU (2-5) trailed 5-1 after four innings. The Salukis scored two 2-out runs in the fifth to get within 5-3. With two outs and nobody on in the seventh, Nikola Vasicdrew a walk; Alex Lyon and Logan Blackfan followed with back-to-back home runs to center field to give SIU a 6-5 lead.

“That’s why those guys are sitting there in the 3- and 4-hole,” SIU head coach Ken Henderson said of Lyon and Blackfan. “Once we got through the first few innings, we put a lot of good ABs together. Those were quality ABs, and it was a great job by Niko to get on in front of them. Those were clutch.”

The bottom of the seventh inning started with what appeared to be a routine ground ball to Blackfan at first base. The ball caught a bad hop and jumped over Blackfan’s head to give North Florida (3-4) the leadoff man on first base. SIU made a throwing error on the next hitter; and two batters later, right fielder Kenton Crawford made a sprinting attempt at a ball deep in the right-center gap, but the ball bounced out of his glove. By the end of the inning, UNF had four runs to re-take a sizable 9-6 lead.

“We got a bad break with the bad-hop single, but that can’t lead to four runs,” Henderson said. “We have to do a better job minimizing and making sure it doesn’t lead to a big inning. It might lead to one run, but then you’re still tied. We didn’t control what we could control, and we didn’t minimize it in that inning.”

Nine of the game’s first 11 runs came with two outs. With the game tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the fourth, SIU starter Mason Hiser got two quick outs. The Ospreys followed with back-to-back doubles and then back-to-back homers to take a 5-1 lead.

In the next half-inning, Connor Kopach drew a two-out walk, and Vasic followed with a double. Lyon then scored Vasic on a play where the UNF shortstop made a diving stop, then threw wide of home when Vasic turned to score from second base. Then in the seventh, Vasic drew the two-out walk before the back-to-back homers by Lyon and Blackfan.

“We competed. We had the right guys up, and they had quality ABs,” Henderson said. “We just need to have better ABs up-and-down the lineup, and we will. We gave away some ABs early, but again, we competed extremely hard. There’s a lot to build on.”

SIU walked just four batters during the three-game series.

“We talk about throwing strikes, making routine plays, and grinding out ABs,” Henderson said. “We threw a ton of strikes this weekend. When you only walk three or four guys in a weekend, you’re going to come out ahead most of the time. We have to make routine plays; we need to clean that up because we haven’t done that well enough. We’re grinding out ABs, but not up and down the lineup. If we do that, we will win because our talent level is good enough.”

UP NEXT: Southern Illinois faces Belmont on Tuesday at 4 p.m. CT.

By Tom Weber siusalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois junior guard Marcus Bartley has been named to the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-District team for District 5, which comprises all Division I teams in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

A sport administration major with a 4.00 GPA, Bartley leads Southern Illinois with 84 assists, despite missing the first six games of the season with a broken wrist. He returned in December and has played in 23 games, including 19 starts. The Saint Louis transfer and Decatur, Illinois native averages 6.6 points and ranks second on the team in 3-point shooting percentage at .389. In two games this season against Northern Iowa, he went 8-for-11 from outside the arc.

Bartley is the program’s first Academic All-District pick since Bryan Mullins won the award in 2009. Mullins went on to become a two-time Academic All-American. Academic All-District honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be announced in March.

NCAA DIVISION I – DISTRICT 5 (IL, IN, MI, OH)

FIRST TEAM Name        School    Yr.    GPA    Major
Marcus Bartley    Southern Illinois University    Jr.    4.00    Sport Administration
Clayton Custer    Loyola University Chicago    Jr.    3.52    Finance
Seth Dugan    Western Michigan University    Jr.    3.96    Finance
Nate Fowler    Butler University    Jr.    3.56    Mechanical Engineering / Economics
Sean Sellers    Ball State University    Gr.    3.64 / 3.67    Secondary Education (UG)

By Tony McDaniel, siusalukis.com

Looking to 2018… 

• The Salukis return six starters and two of their three pitchers from the 2017 MVC Championship team.
• In total, 12 of Southern’s 18 players lettered in 2017.
• Four Salukis, senior infielder Sydney Jones, junior pitcher Brianna Jones, sophomore second baseman Maddy Vermejanand sophomore outfielder Susie Baranski, were all Preseason All-MVC selections.Southern tied Illinois State for the most selections to the team in the Conference with four.
• The Salukis were picked second in the Valley by the league’s Coaches.Illinois State was picked first and the Salukis were just one vote behind the Redbirds and one point ahead of Northern Iowa in third place.Southern and Northern Iowa are tied with the most first-place votes with three a piece.

So far… 

• The Salukis are 4-4 on the season and are outscoring opponents 37-29.
• The Salukis have 11 home runs through 8 games, the most through as many games since 2003.
• Starting pitcher Brianna Joneshas struck out 35 batters in 31 innings.She’s 4-0 on the season and has allowed just 19 hits, 7 earned runs and 5 walks.
• On Feb.17, Southern beat Georgetown 13-4.It was the biggest win and most runs scored in a five-inning game since March 14, 2017 when SIU defeated Southern Utah 14-2.

Milestone/Record watch… 

• Southern’s long time head coach Kerri Blaylockis approaching several big career records and milestones.
• As of 2/21 she is…
• Two wins from 634 which would surpass Kay Brechtelsbauer for the all-time lead at Southern.
• 15 games from the 1,000th of her career.She is projected to manage that game on March 14 at UT – Martin barring cancellations.
• She is 8 wins from her 300th in MVC play.She will be the third coach in Conference history to win that many games.

More on Blaylock… 

• Blaylock is the only coach to lead an MVC team to five-straight NCAA tournaments.She did so from 2003-07.
• She has the second-best winning percentage (.645) of any coach in the MVC with more than 500 wins.
• She is one of just two coaches in the program’s 51-year history.Kay Brechtelsbauer is the program’s only other coach.

Nationally Ranked Statistically 

(Top-50 only) 

• Maddy Vermejanis second in the nation in hit by pitch per game.She’s been hit five times in eight games, an average on 0.63.
• Kyleigh Deckerhas been hit four times in eight games and is 16th in the nation with an average of 0.50.
• Vermejan is 28th in nation in on-base percentage at .621.
• Katelyn Massais 15th in the nation in home runs with 4.
• She is also 12th in the nation in home runs per game with an average of 0.50.
• Massa is 44th in the nation in RBI per game.She has 11 in 8 games for an average of 1.38 per.
• Her 1.000 slugging percentage is the 27th best in the nation.
• Brianna Jonesis 38th in the nation in strikeouts with 35.
• Jones has won four games this year; good for 21st in the nation.
• As a team, the Salukis are 14th in the nation in home runs per game.SIU has hit 11 in eight games for an average of 1.38.
• Southern is 32nd in the nation in team slugging percentage at .490.

MVC Leading Salukis… 

• Vermejan is tops in the Valley in hit by pitch with 0.63 per game.Her .621 on base percentage is the MVC’s best.
• Katelyn Massaleads the MVC in home runs and home runs per game.She’s hit 4 in 8 games for an average of 0.50.
• Brianna Jonesleads the Conference in strikeouts with 35 and is tied for the lead in wins with 4.

Starting Fast… 

• The Salukis are 3-0 this season when they score first, or score in the first inning, or when leading after one inning.Adversely, the team is 0-3 when trailing after the first inning.

Youth Movement… 

Of Southern’s starters in 2017, three of them were freshmen.They were; outfielder Susie Baranski, second baseman Maddy Vermejan and catcher/ DP Katelyn Massa.

On Baranski…

• Baranski was one of only four players to start in all 57 games.
• She led the team in at-bats (181), hits (53) and runs scored (39).
• She was also second on the team in walks (31) and steals (9).
• Baranski was a preseason All-MVC selection.

On Massa…

• Massa unseated a senior catcher and started in 43 games behind the plate or as a DP.
• She hit .297 with 5 home runs and 22 RBI and struck out only 14 times, the least of any starter last year.
• She was perfect in the field posting a 1.000 fielding percentage while throwing out 11 of 17 potential base stealers.
• She was an All-MVC second team selection in 2017.

On Vermejan…

• Made 54 starts and hit .284 in her freshman season.
• She led the team in batting average during the Conference season hitting at a .350 clip.
• She was third on the team with 7 doubles.
• Posted a .990 fielding percentage, the best of any non-catcher on the team.
• Was selected to the 2017 All-MVC second team and the All-Defensive team and is a member of this year’s preseason All-MVC team.
• Also, several more underclassmen are slated to start this season.Sophomore Kyleigh Deckeris projected to take the bulk of the starts at first and two true freshmen Jenny Jansen and Maris Boelens could see a lot of time in the outfield.

Scouting the Opponents… 

On Wright State..

• Wright State is 0-5 this season and is coming off a week without any competitive softball.The team is being outscored 24-8.
• Last year, the Raiders were 21-31 and 14-10 in the Horizon League.They were just 2-11 in neutral site games.
• As a team, Wright State ranks in the top-100 nationally in only one category, steals.The team is 65th in stolen bases per game averaging 1.40 a game.
• Mercer’s staff of three pitchers has a combined ERA of 7.41.Ashley Sharp’s 5.88 ERA is the best on the team.She’s struck out 12 and walked 9.She’s the only pitcher with more strike outs than walks.
• The Salukis are 5-0 against Wright State all time and last beat the Raiders 8-6 in 2012 at the Coach B Classic.

On Connecticut…

• The Huskies are 5-4 so far this season and are being outscored 25-20.Last year the Huskies were 17- 31 overall and 3-14 in the American.
• UConn ranks in the top-100 nationally in one category.The Huskies are 38th in Earned Run Average at 1.71.
• Chelsea Eckert leads the nation in ERA.She has not allowed an earned run yet in 10.2 innings pitched.She’s 1-0, has struck out 14 and walked 5 batters.
• The Salukis are 3-0 all-time vs.UConn.The teams last met in 1998 when Southern won 3-0.The Salukis are outscoring the Huskies all-time 12-4.

On Stony Brook…

• The Seawolves open their season this weekend.Last year, they were 18-29 and 9-7 in the America East.
• Sophomore Melissa Rahrich is a dual threat player for the Seawolves.She hit .363 with eight home runs and 32 RBI.She also posted a 3.47 ERA and a 12-12 record in 2017 striking out 54 batters and walking 43.
• The Seawolves had five players start in at least 20 games and hit better than .300 in 2017. All five players are back this season.
• This will be the first time SIU and Stony Brook have ever played each other.

On Florida Gulf Coast…

• FGCU is 8-0 this season and have played all their games at home.Last year the Eagles were 30-30 and 8-9 in the Atlantic Sun.
• As a team, the Eagles are top in the nation in team ERA at 0.25 and win/loss percentage.
• Junior Natalie Lopez leads the nation in batting average at .769 and on-base percentage at .842.
• Three Eagles pitchers lead the nation in pitching categories.Morgan White’s 0.00 ERA is the best in the nation.She’s struck out six and walked five in 18.1 innings.Taylor Bauman leads the nation in saves with 6 in 6 appearances.Riley Randolph leads the nation in walks per seven innings.She’s struck out 18 and walked 0.
• Southern is 1-2 against FGCU all-time.The Eagles have won the last two meetings against the Salukis.Southern last won in 2011.

CARBONDALE, Ill. Loyola led from start to finish in a dominating 75-56 win over Southern Illinois on Wednesday night, securing its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference championship in front of a season-high crowd of 6,036 at SIU Arena.

The Ramblers (24-5, 14-3) made 14 of their first 18 shots and never looked back in an impressive show of marksmanship and unselfish play. Junior guard Clayton Custer, the favorite to win Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors, had 16 points, five assists and five steals. Back-court mate Ben Richardson added nine points, eight assists and no turnovers. Loyola shot 60 percent from the field in the first half and 57 percent for the game.

“As a coach, you don’t want to lose ballgames, but you can certainly appreciate when you see good teams,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. “I’m comfortable enough in my own skin to tell people when they do well. I told Porter (Moser) and each one of those individuals when I shook their hands — congratulations on a championship. It’s a great feat.”

The game was a missed opportunity for Southern to pick up a Top 50 win and strengthen its resume for a potential at-large slot in the National Invitational Tournament, but the separation between the teams was clear.

“I’m disappointed and also shocked,” Hinson said. “We were extremely selfish tonight and it really affected how we played on defense. We were un-coachable tonight. They would not listen to me. They would not listen to the assistants. At the eight-minute mark, I turned and told my staff, ‘we’re done — they won’t listen.'”

Five different players made 3-point shots for the Ramblers in the first half as they sprinted to a 36-19 lead. SIU responded with a flurry of three-straight 3-point shots — two by Marcus Bartley and one by Sean Lloyd — to trim the deficit to 36-28, but Loyola countered with an 8-2 run.

“The worst thing we did was hit those threes back-to-back, then everybody started jacking threes,” Hinson said. The Salukis finished 6-of-19 from long range, including 1-of-8 in the second half.

Southern cut the deficit to eight again at halftime, but that only seemed to motivate Loyola’s defense, which held SIU to 30 percent shooting in the second half.

“Instead of celebrating that we had an eight-point lead at half, it was all about we’re not guarding,” said Loyola head coach Porter Moser, who won his first league title in his ninth year as an MVC head coach. “We didn’t want a tight game because they’ve done so well in them.”

After Armon Fletcher hit a three for Southern to make it 47-39 with 18:23 to go, the Ramblers answered in a big way, reeling off nine-straight points to make it 56-39. SIU never threatened thereafter.

The Salukis (19-11, 11-6) had out-scored their last seven opponents in Points in the Paint, but Loyola turned the tables with a 42-22 advantage inside. Loyola freshman center Cameron Krutwig had 14 points and was 6-of-7 from the field. It was an even battle down low versus SIU’s Kavion Pippen, who had 16 points and made 7-of-10 shots. Hinson would have liked to have seen his big man get even more attempts.

“We had times tonight where we wouldn’t even throw him the ball and we’re yelling at our guys to throw it to him,” Hinson said. “And when we tell them on the bench, they’re rolling their eyes at me.”

Several streaks ended tonight for SIU. Hinson lost on Senior Night for the first time in his career as a head coach in 17 tries. Southern also had its seven-game home-winning streak snapped. The Salukis can still secure the No. 2 seed at next week’s MVC Tournament with a win at Evansville on Saturday or an Illinois State loss at Loyola.

Hinson was asked afterward if he thought Loyola could earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if it fails to win the conference tournament next week.

“You’re talking to the wrong guy — 21, 34 and 36 — those are the three RPIs I had as a coach (and did not get in),” he said. “But I will campaign my ass off for them, hopefully after we beat them in the championship game.”

Box Score

http://siusalukis.com/boxscore.aspx?id=8041&path=mbball

By John Lock siusalukis.com 

OXFORD, Miss. – The Southern Illinois University baseball team dropped a 6-0 decision to Jacksonville State on Sunday afternoon at Choccolocco Park. The Gamecocks swept the season-opening three-game series.

Jacksonville State took an early lead with a solo home run in the second inning, and the Gamecocks added another solo shot in the fourth. A two-out error added another JSU run in the fifth, but SIU starter Mason Hiser, who was making his first Division I start after transferring from Barton College, limited damage in his five innings of work to keep the Salukis close.

“One of the home runs was a really good pitch,” SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. “That’s a really good lineup. Give them credit; they can really swing it. Mason did a good job and gave us a chance.”

Southern’s offense started the day with a leadoff double by Connor Kopach, but that was Southern’s only hit against JSU starter Colton Pate, who went five innings. The Salukis (0-3) limited the damage in several potential big innings — JSU (3-0) pounded out 12 hits in its eight times at bat — but the Gamecocks kept expanding the lead with single run-innings in the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth. They scored two in the seventh to set the final score.

“There will be a lot teams that will struggle to get through (JSU’s) lineup,” Henderson said. “You’re going to have to match them. We couldn’t do that today. They kept expanding the lead. It wasn’t out of reach, but all of the sudden we’re down 6-0 late in the game.”

Closer Ryan Netemeyer, a preseason Stopper of the Year candidate, pitched the final four outs and didn’t allow a hit. He was the only one of seven SIU relievers this weekend to not allow a run.

On the weekend, Logan Blackfan led the offense, going 6-for-13 (.462) with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs. He slugged 1.154. Connor Kopach bounced back from an 1-for-5 Friday and went 4-for-8 over the final two games. Newcomers J.T. Weber (freshman) and Alex Lyon (Volunteer State transfer) also had good weekends. Weber went 3-for-9 with a double and a home run, and Lyon went 3-for-10 with 2 doubles. The Salukis also flashed their great speed, going 8-for-10 stealing bases on the weekend.

“We did a lot of positive things,” Henderson said. “Nobody is happy about being 0-3, but we will be a good club. I have no doubt in my mind. We have a lot of new guys. We had to get down here, get going, and see what we have to work on. We will clean that up, and we’ll be a good club.”

The series is juxtaposed against last year’s opening sweep at Stetson. While Southern went 24-30 the rest of the 2017, the Hatters ended up finishing second in the A-SUN.

“It’s one weekend. We started 3-0 last year, and a few weeks later nobody remembered,” Henderson said. “We just have to get better every day. We will, and this will be a good year.”

The Salukis are back in action Tuesday at Austin Peay. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Box Score

http://siusalukis.com/boxscore.aspx?path=baseball&id=8048