Thursday, March 7
St. Louis, MO
8:30 PM
Southern Illinois University
19-13,11-9MVC
82
vs
84
UIC
12-20,4-16MVC
1
2
OT 1
OT 2
F
UIC
41
22
8
13
84
Southern Ill.
27
36
8
11
82
Photo by: Doug DeVoe
Recap | Salukis Fall to UIC in Double Overtime at Arch Madness
03/08/2024 | 12:36:00 | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Southern Illinois rallied back from a 16-point second-half deficit but was unable to walk away with a win as the Salukis fell in double overtime to UIC, 84-82, Thursday night in its Arch Madness opener at Enterprise Center. Southern closes out the season at 19-13 overall.
Xavier Johnson led the Salukis with 27 points and seven assists while moving into third place on the SIU single season points at 707, trailing only Charlie Vaughn (779, 1960) and Steve Middleton (711, 1988).
Junior guard AJ Ferguson earned his second double-double of the season with 12 points and career-high 14 rebounds. Fifth-year guard Trent Brown finished with 16 points, making five three-point baskets marking the third time he had five or more treys in a game.
UIC shot 56.3 percent (18-32) while committing just one turnover in 29 possessions to construct a 41-27 halftime lead. Brown, who missed all six shots while going scoreless in the regular season finale against UNI, scored the first six points of the game forcing UIC a timeout with 15:58 in the first half. UIC would respond with a 10-0 run, sparked by three three-point baskets. The Flames used a 10-2 run to break away from a 20-18 edge.
After UIC enjoyed its biggest lead at 45-29, SIU responded with an 11-0 run to pull within 45-40 with 11:53 following a layup by Johnson. After only having one turnover in the first half, UIC committed five turnovers last in six possessions helping SIU go on that surge.
Two free throws by Johnson with 7:15 left gave the Salukis a 50-49 advantage - their first lead since 8-6 in the first half while igniting a string of 10 straight points he would score during a 2 minute 35-second span to push their lead to 58-51.
A driving layup by C.J. Jones with 6.8 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 63-63 sending it into overtime. Rivera scored all of the Flames' eight points in the first overtime. After back-to-back three-point baskets from Trent Brown and Troy D'Amico gave the Salukis a 71-69 advantage with 27 seconds left, Rivera sent the game into a second overtime by sinking two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to tie the game at 71-71.
In the second overtime, Rivera scored five straight points to give UIC a 76-74 lead with 2:43 remaining. A basket from Jaden Brownell and two free throws from CJ Jones later gave UIC an 80-76 advantage with 1:02 left. The Salukis pulled within 80-79 on a three-point play by Kennard Davis with 47 seconds remaining. But Rivera answered with a layup and a free throw to account for the final victory.
The Salukis played in overtime without their two leading scorers in Johnson and Ferguson as the two fouled out of the game.
UIC scored 50 of their points in the paint while Southern scored just 24 points near the basket.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Basketball, on Instagram at @SIU_Basketball, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SIUBasketball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Xavier Johnson led the Salukis with 27 points and seven assists while moving into third place on the SIU single season points at 707, trailing only Charlie Vaughn (779, 1960) and Steve Middleton (711, 1988).
Junior guard AJ Ferguson earned his second double-double of the season with 12 points and career-high 14 rebounds. Fifth-year guard Trent Brown finished with 16 points, making five three-point baskets marking the third time he had five or more treys in a game.
UIC shot 56.3 percent (18-32) while committing just one turnover in 29 possessions to construct a 41-27 halftime lead. Brown, who missed all six shots while going scoreless in the regular season finale against UNI, scored the first six points of the game forcing UIC a timeout with 15:58 in the first half. UIC would respond with a 10-0 run, sparked by three three-point baskets. The Flames used a 10-2 run to break away from a 20-18 edge.
After UIC enjoyed its biggest lead at 45-29, SIU responded with an 11-0 run to pull within 45-40 with 11:53 following a layup by Johnson. After only having one turnover in the first half, UIC committed five turnovers last in six possessions helping SIU go on that surge.
Two free throws by Johnson with 7:15 left gave the Salukis a 50-49 advantage - their first lead since 8-6 in the first half while igniting a string of 10 straight points he would score during a 2 minute 35-second span to push their lead to 58-51.
A driving layup by C.J. Jones with 6.8 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 63-63 sending it into overtime. Rivera scored all of the Flames' eight points in the first overtime. After back-to-back three-point baskets from Trent Brown and Troy D'Amico gave the Salukis a 71-69 advantage with 27 seconds left, Rivera sent the game into a second overtime by sinking two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to tie the game at 71-71.
In the second overtime, Rivera scored five straight points to give UIC a 76-74 lead with 2:43 remaining. A basket from Jaden Brownell and two free throws from CJ Jones later gave UIC an 80-76 advantage with 1:02 left. The Salukis pulled within 80-79 on a three-point play by Kennard Davis with 47 seconds remaining. But Rivera answered with a layup and a free throw to account for the final victory.
The Salukis played in overtime without their two leading scorers in Johnson and Ferguson as the two fouled out of the game.
UIC scored 50 of their points in the paint while Southern scored just 24 points near the basket.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Basketball, on Instagram at @SIU_Basketball, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SIUBasketball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Team Stats
UIC
SIU
FG%
.493
.377
3FG%
.350
.371
FT%
.563
.680
RB
42
40
TO
10
7
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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