Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament Recap - Round One |
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Missouri Valley Tournament – Opening Round Overview Arch Madness, Day 2
> Follw the entire 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament here at MVC-fans.com (1) Missouri State 58, (8) Southern Illinois 56 The stack of four quarterfinals at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis got off to a roaring and rousing start, as the regular-season champion barely escaped the executioner’s blade in what was the story of the day. Missouri State looked like an NIT-bound ballclub when it trailed Southern Illinois by a 56-47 margin with just under three minutes left, but the Bears closed on an 11-0 run over the final 2:50, wiping out a nine-point Saluki lead. MSU and coach Cuonzo Martin survived when aKyle Weems driving shot in the lane with 1.4 seconds left completed a huge come-from-behind victory. The Bears' offensive struggles - and a surprisingly potent Saluki offense that hit 52 percent of its shots – combined to enable Southern Illinois to stand on the doorstep of triumph. SIU moved very close to pulling a huge upset that would have all but ended the Bears' March Madness dreams. However, the Salukis went scoreless in the final minutes, missing two front ends of one-and-ones while the Bears finally woke up. Adam Leonard had 20 points for the winners, including two huge three-pointers in the team’s final decisive run. Weems, the author of the game-winning shot, added 14 for Missouri State. Mamadou Seck had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Salukis, whose 13-19 season came to a heartbreaking end just as they were seeing visions of pulling a shocker. The Bears could face repercussions later in the tournament, given that they were unable to get much rest for their starters. MSU has another game tomorrow and potentially one more on Sunday as well.
(5) Creighton 60, (4) Northern Iowa 57 The Bluejays jumped out to an 8-0 lead, set the tone, carried the play for the better part of 40 minutes, and ultimately held on at the end despite a relentless Panther rally, surviving two missed layups in the final minute to pick up the victory. Reserve Kenny Lawson had 18 points to pace the Bluejays in the win, including a basket off a missed lay-up that put the Bluejays up 60-57 in the game’s dying moments. Kwadzo Ahelegbe had 14 points for the Panthers, 12 in the second half, but he missed two late jumpers with Northern Iowa down by only three (60-57). The Panthers were unable to pull off comeback and fell in the “upset,” at least according to the seedings of these teams. The loss ends the Panthers' outside shot at picking up a third straight Arch Madness championship. The Bluejays will face Missouri State on Saturday; given their depth and the Bears' lack of it, the Bluejays will have a chance to give the Bears another really close contest.
(2) Wichita State 70, (10) Bradley 56 After having seen two very close games earlier in the day, Wichita State was going to have nothing to do with drama on Friday evening in St. Louis. The Shockers ended the first half on a 9-0 run to go up 35-22 at the break and take the juice out of the Scottrade Center crowd. Then WSU started the second half on a 12-4 run to extend the lead to 47-26, all but ending the Braves’ chances of waging a legitimate comeback. Garrett Stutz had 16 points to lead the Shockers, and Joe Ragland had 11 points. The Braves placed three players in double figures, led by Andrew Warren with 17, in their season-ending loss. It was the Shockers’ third win over the Braves this season.
(3) Indiana State 52, (6) Evansville 50 Jake Odum drained a pull-up jumper with 0.5 seconds left, lifting the Sycamores to a thrilling victory over the Aces on Friday night. After two regular season losses to the Aces, the Sycamores picked up a win in this series when it mattered most, advancing to the semifinals of Arch Madness for the first time since 2001. The Sycamores made it interesting, though. After seeing the Aces jump to an early lead, the Sycamores fought back and cut the lead to five at the half. The score then bounced back and forth in the second half, with a Jordan Printy three-pointer giving Indiana State a 38-37 lead with 9:08 left. Over the next nine minutes, ISU was held to just one made field goal (a lay-up with 1:14 left in the game) and was forced to rely on free throws to keep pace with the Aces. Fortunately, coach Greg Lansing’s Sycamores did just that, and now they can continue to dream of a glorious run to the Arch Madness winner’s circle. With the win, Indiana State advances to face Wichita State in the second semifinal on Saturday.
Looking Ahead Semifinals - Saturday, March 5 (5) Creighton vs. (1) Missouri State - (1:35 PM CST, MVC TV) (3) Indiana State vs. (2) Wichita State - (4:05 PM CST, MVC TV)
By: Matt Zemek & Sujal Shah |