A layup by Armon Fletcher with 7 seconds remaining spoiled a ferocious Missouri State comeback and lifted visiting Southern Illinois to a 79-77 victory here Saturday in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Alize Johnson led all players with 29 points and 12 rebounds for MSU, while Jarrid Rhodes pumped in 17 for the Bears (15-8, 5-5 MVC) who suffered their third straight defeat.
Southern Illinois (14-9, 6-4 MVC) was led by Fletcher’s 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Kavion Pippen tallied 17.
The home standing Bears erased a 13-point second-half deficit, and tied the game twice in the final 90 seconds. Obediah Church’s two free throws with 1:33 to go knotted the score, 75-75, and brought the JQH Arena faithful to their feet.
Missouri State’s defense then forced a Saluki stalemate when Sean Lloyd traveled on SIU’s next possession. But shooting for the lead for the first time since early in the first half, MSU was unable to convert when Johnson was called for an offensive hooking foul on his drive to the bucket with just over a minute to play.
Pippen then drained a 10-footer with 46 seconds remaining to push the visitors ahead by two, before Johnson tied the game again, 77-77, just 12 seconds later.
But on SIU’s final trip, the Salukis got the ball to Pippen who hit Fletcher slashing to the basket for the game-winning layup.
Missouri State was able to launch one last shot before the final buzzer, but Jarrid Rhodes’ desperation three from the left wing bounced off the rim.
MSU was out-rebounded for the third straight game as SIU took a 26-22 advantage on the glass with just three offensive rebounds.
After trailing by 11 at the half, Missouri State shot 58 percent in the second period and made 10-of-12 at the line in the final 20 minutes to help mount the comeback. The Bears finished 25-of-53 (.472) from the field, 11-of-27 (.407) from three and 16-of-18 (.889) at the line with just eight turnovers.
Ronnie Rousseau III dropped in a career-high four 3-pointers to finish with 13 points for the Bears, while Jarred Dixon contributed 12 with a game-high 7 assists.
Church was the only MSU starter who did not score in double figures, but the junior dished out 3 assists and recorded a pair of rejections to become Missouri State’s career leader in blocked shots. His 168th career block late in the second half surpassed Danny Moore (1996-99 for the top spot.
In the first half, Southern used an 11-0 run in the first five minutes of the game and then pushed ahead by double figures before the game reached the 10-minute mark.
MSU trimmed its deficit to three on a pair of foul shots by Dixon with six minutes to go in the half, but SIU closed out the period with back-to-back treys from Tyler Smithpeters and Fletcher to go into the intermission leading 42-31.
The Salukis then added the first basket of the second half to lead 44-31, their biggest advantage of the evening.
MSU concludes its two-game home stand Tuesday against Illinois State at 7 p.m.
