Wednesday, February 27
Evansville, Ind.
6 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
16-14, 9-8MVC
98
at
91
Evansville
10-20, 4-13MVC
1
2
F
Southern Illinois
50
48
98
Evansville
36
55
91
SIU starts hot, fends off Evansville, 98-91
02/27/2019 | 8:58:00 | Men's Basketball
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- The Southern Illinois men's basketball team jumped out to a 13-2 lead and held off Evansville on its Senior Day, 98-81. The Salukis swept the season series from the Aces for the first time since 2010.Â
SIU (16-14, 9-8 MVC) scored 50 points in the first half to take a 14-point lead into the break. The Salukis stretched the lead out to 19 points in the second half before Evansville (10-20, 4-13 MVC) hit a barrage the 3-pointers to get as close as four late in the game, but SIU held on for a second-straight win and an MVC-best seventh true road win of the season.Â
"Them making a run and making it close, none of that surprises me," SIU head coach Barry Hinson said. "We scored some points tonight, and we needed every one of them."
SIU scored at will throughout the game, scoring the most points for the Salukis in a Valley game since 2001 and the most in an MVC road game since 1997. Armon Fletcher tied a career high with 34 points to lead four players in double-figures. Both Sean Lloyd Jr. (8-for-8) and Eric McGill (5-for-5) were perfect from the field.
Fletcher dominated throughout the game, collecting 18 points in the first half and 16 in the second half. Nobody else in the league has scored more than 32 points this year except Fletcher, who has scored 34 twice, both in MVC games.Â
"You could tell from the moment the game started that he was ready to go," Hinson said. "You could tell it in his eyes."
Fletcher led an offense that was efficient throughout the game. SIU hit 35-of-58 from the field (60.3 percent) and 10-of-19 from the 3-point line (52.6 percent). The Salukis were 7-of-10 from long range in the first half.Â
"We executed. We shared the ball for the most part," Hinson said. "A lot of our stuff was off the dribble today, which we talked about: Attack off the dribble. I thought that was a big part of our game."
The offensive explosion was enough the hold off a resilient Evansville club that hit 10-of-18 3-pointers in the second half and shot 59 percent from the field after the break.Â
With only one more game to play, SIU is in the middle of a congested Missouri Valley Conference that has seven teams within two games of co-leaders Drake and Loyola. SIU can finish as high as third or as low as seventh, depending on results, but can assure itself a day off on Thursday of Arch Madness with a win over Illinois State.
SIU hosts Illinois State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, in SIU Arena for Senior Day. The Salukis will honor the six seniors prior to the game.Â
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SIU (16-14, 9-8 MVC) scored 50 points in the first half to take a 14-point lead into the break. The Salukis stretched the lead out to 19 points in the second half before Evansville (10-20, 4-13 MVC) hit a barrage the 3-pointers to get as close as four late in the game, but SIU held on for a second-straight win and an MVC-best seventh true road win of the season.Â
"Them making a run and making it close, none of that surprises me," SIU head coach Barry Hinson said. "We scored some points tonight, and we needed every one of them."
SIU scored at will throughout the game, scoring the most points for the Salukis in a Valley game since 2001 and the most in an MVC road game since 1997. Armon Fletcher tied a career high with 34 points to lead four players in double-figures. Both Sean Lloyd Jr. (8-for-8) and Eric McGill (5-for-5) were perfect from the field.
Fletcher dominated throughout the game, collecting 18 points in the first half and 16 in the second half. Nobody else in the league has scored more than 32 points this year except Fletcher, who has scored 34 twice, both in MVC games.Â
"You could tell from the moment the game started that he was ready to go," Hinson said. "You could tell it in his eyes."
Fletcher led an offense that was efficient throughout the game. SIU hit 35-of-58 from the field (60.3 percent) and 10-of-19 from the 3-point line (52.6 percent). The Salukis were 7-of-10 from long range in the first half.Â
"We executed. We shared the ball for the most part," Hinson said. "A lot of our stuff was off the dribble today, which we talked about: Attack off the dribble. I thought that was a big part of our game."
The offensive explosion was enough the hold off a resilient Evansville club that hit 10-of-18 3-pointers in the second half and shot 59 percent from the field after the break.Â
With only one more game to play, SIU is in the middle of a congested Missouri Valley Conference that has seven teams within two games of co-leaders Drake and Loyola. SIU can finish as high as third or as low as seventh, depending on results, but can assure itself a day off on Thursday of Arch Madness with a win over Illinois State.
SIU hosts Illinois State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, in SIU Arena for Senior Day. The Salukis will honor the six seniors prior to the game.Â
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Team Stats
SIU
UE
FG%
.603
.500
3FG%
.526
.448
FT%
.643
.714
RB
34
31
TO
10
11
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
34
FGM
12
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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