Friday, March 8
St. Louis, Mo.
8:30 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
10-817-15; MVC
58
vs
61
Northern Iowa
9-915-17; MVC
1
2
F
UNI
34
27
61
Southern Illinois
26
32
58
Season ends with MVC quarterfinal loss to UNI
03/09/2019 | 12:51:00 | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS - The Southern Illinois men's basketball program's season came to an end with a 61-58 loss to Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals on Friday night. After the game, Barry Hinson announced he would step away as head coach of Southern Illinois.Â
"If you quote me on one thing, I'd like you to quote me on this — I am so sorry that we couldn't get back to the Tournament. It's haunted me my entire life. But I'm a man of faith. My dad taught me a long time ago, 'I know not what my future holds, but I know Who holds my future,'" Hinson said. (Click here to read Hinson's entire statement or watch on YouTube).
In the game, SIU (17-15) trailed nearly the entire way until Aaron Cook made a dramatic go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining that gave the Salukis a one-point lead, but UNI freshman A.J. Green made a heavily contested turnaround jump shot with 12 seconds left to give the Panthers the win. In the final seconds, SIU had one shot to re-take the lead and another shot at the buzzer to tie the game, but neither fell. UNI (15-17) advanced to the tournament semifinal and will face Drake on Saturday.Â
"I thought we played our tails off today," Hinson said. "When you're down 11 under the ten-minute mark, most teams would just shut it down and not play. For us to come back and take the lead, I thought showed great character on these young men's part. This is not what we expected, but this is the Valley."
Southern's offense went through seniors Kavion Pippen and Armon Fletcher. Pippen scored 22 points and Fletcher added 14, but the Salukis shot just 37 percent from the floor.Â
Fletcher and Pippen were among the six seniors who saw their SIU careers end. Fletcher, Pippen, Marcus Bartley, Rudy Stradnieks, Sean Lloyd Jr., and Thik Bol go out as the only senior class in the MVC who finished in the top-four of the MVC standings each of the last four years.Â
Hinson said: "I'll remember Armon and Armon's mother because they have been so dear to me. Kavion, just through the recruiting process of him believing in us and believing in SIU to come play for us. Kavion carries a lot of pressure on his shoulder just because of his last name, and he's Kavion Pippen. He deserves to be Kavion by what he's accomplished. Both of these young men sitting beside me will have the opportunity to play professionally. Armon has already got his degree, and Kavion will get his degree in May, and that's the most important thing to me. I'm crushed for Thik Bol, but I hope people understand what this young man did. Coach Kill said he had a guy in Minnesota that played without a meniscus, but he never practiced. That's basically what we did with Thik. I thought the grit he showed playing this year for us was outstanding. I really -- I hurt that you didn't get to see the true Thik Bol, only got to see it in his junior year. Rudy, I've never coached anybody from Latvia. If I go to Europe, I'm not ever going to have a tour guide. Just an outstanding young man and pleasant to be around. I've had the opportunity to coach some guys from Philly before, but Sean Lloyd will be the most popular guy I've ever coached from Philly and what he's done for me. You talk about people judge a book by its cover. He's probably the meanest sucker on the floor, but he's the most gentle teddy bear you want to be around and one of the kindest individuals. But these six seniors have had a huge impact on my life, and I'll forever remember that."
Northern Iowa was led by Wyatt Lohaus, who had 21 points and five rebounds. Trae Berhow added 11 points.Â
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Team Stats
UNI
SIU
FG%
.393
.371
3FG%
.294
.250
FT%
.889
.800
RB
37
37
TO
9
10
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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