Southern Illinois University Saluki Men's Basketball recently issued the following announcement.
The Southern Illinois men's basketball team started Missouri Valley Conference play with a 75-70 win over Missouri State on Wednesday night at SIU Arena. The Salukis never led by more than 10, but also never relinquished the lead and won the MVC opener for the third time in the last four seasons.
Kavion Pippen built SIU's lead quickly, scoring 14 of his game-high 23 points in the first half. He went 9-for-12 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line in the win. Pippen's performance proved especially important after fellow All-MVC center Thik Bol was held out with an ankle injury suffered against Winthrop before Christmas. SIU head coach Barry Hinson said Bol would have an MRI on Thursday.
"Last year, we lost the game when we got news about Thik before the game," Hinson said. "Tonight, our guys got the news literally before we took the floor, and those guys responded. We talked in the locker room about how we have to band together. We have to pick everyone up. And then, of all things, Sean Lloyd got in foul trouble. I thought that was one heck of a gutty performance."
Hinson was also quick to praise senior guard Marcus Bartley. When Lloyd got into foul trouble in the first half, and without Bol, Bartley stepped into the power forward position for the first time in his career, and Southern's offense didn't miss a beat, shooting 54 percent in the first half. The Salukis played unselfishly throughout the night, piling up 20 assists on 24 field goals.
Aaron Cook (15 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds), Eric McGill (14 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists) and Sean Lloyd Jr. (11 points) joined Pippen in double-figures. McGill hit four first-half 3-pointers and also recorded his third double-double of the season, leading all MVC guards. Lloyd scored all his points after halftime to earn his way into double-figures for the ninth-straight game.
SIU (8-6, 1-0 MVC) won its ninth-straight game over Missouri State (6-8, 0-1 MVC), extending the longest winning streak for either team in the series. Despite the one-sided results, the series has been intensely competitive--after tonight's game, seven-straight games between SIU and MSU have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
Missouri State was led by Ryan Kreklow, who went 5-for-6 from the 3-point line. The Bears cut SIU's lead to one possession eight separate times in the second half; but each time, the Salukis responded to stay in front. On opening night for conference play in the MVC, the league previewed what could be an unpredictable conference race. In addition to SIU's five-point win, Evansville upset Drake in double-overtime, and Valparaiso overcame a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes to upset Illinois State on a half-court heave at the buzzer.
"It's not going to be easy," Hinson said. "It's going to be an unbelievable year for fans to watch Valley Basketball, and it's going to be a Kaopectate and Pepto Bismol year for every head coach in this league."
SIU hits the road to face Northern Iowa on Saturday, January 5, at 7 p.m. The Panthers also won their MVC opener, an impressive 18-point road win at Bradley tonight.
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