SPRINGFIELD – Southern Illinois (10-7, 3-1 MVC) got 22 points from senior Mike Rodriguez and tallied 17 second-chance points to defeat home standing Missouri State here Saturday, 75-67, in Missouri Valley Conference play.
The Bears (11-6, 2-2) were led by Jarred Dixon and Dequon Miller with 15 points apiece, while Alize Johnson registered 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the campaign.
The loss was just Missouri State’s second defeat at home in the span of its last 11 games at JQH Arena, dating back to last season.
The Salukis used a 7-0 run late in the first half to push ahead by ten points for the first time and extended a 33-25 halftime lead to 11 points before the first media timeout of the second half.
Missouri State used a 10-0 run over a four-minute stretch midway through the final period to get within one-point of the lead with 11:14 remaining. Dixon then reeled off seven straight Bears’ points in between 3-pointers by SIU’s Rodriguez and Leo Vincent. An MSU layup by Miller before the under-eight media timeout made it a 50-48 contest at the time.
Southern’s Sean Lloyd came out of the timeout with a 3-pointer and later made a layup with less than five minutes to play to open up an eight-point advantage for the visitors.
Missouri State got a corner 3-pointer from Austin Ruder at the four-minute mark to trim the deficit to 61-55, and Johnson made it a five-point game with a free throw on MSU’s next trip. But, SIU had all the answers, silencing the JQH Arena crowd with a 7-0 run at a key point in the game. Rudy Stradnieks started the outburst with a triple out of the right corner before Rodriguez scored on a run-out layup after a turnover by Dixon to give the Salukis their biggest lead of the game, 68-56.
The visitors converted 7-of-10 free throws in the final 67 seconds to seal the victory, despite nine points scored by the Bears in the final 1:28.
MSU shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second half, but finished 26-of-53 (.491) overall and converted just 5-of-19 (.263) from long range. The Bears also struggled from the foul line, making 10-of-18 (.556) at the stripe.
Missouri State committed 12 turnovers and matched SIU on the glass, 31 rebounds apiece. MSU also blocked six shots, including five by Obediah Church who finished with 11 points.
The Salukis were 24-for-57 (.421) overall and 7-of-19 (.368) from bonus distance. SIU also converted 20-of-24 (.833) foul shots, making all but one free throw in the first 39 minutes of the contest. SIU accounted for 12 offensive rebounds, and collected 16 points off turnovers.
The Bears will close out their two-game Valley home stand Wednesday at JQH Arena against Evansville (10-6, 1-2) at 7 p.m. Bleacher seat tickets for the Evansville game are available for just $5.
