Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 1 Southern Illinois led off the day by forcing 22 turnovers and cashing them in often en route to a 71-59 win over No. 9 Drake. The win is the 12th in a row for the Salukis (26-5), who shot nearly 48 percent from the field and got 19 points from Jamaal Tatum and Matt Shaw. Drake (17-15) was led by Klayton Korver’s 14 points, while Ajay Calvin closed out his college career with 12.
The Salukis will face No. 4 Bradley, which got a fallaway three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to knock off No. 5 Northern Iowa 51-48. The Braves (21-11) led for almost the first 38 minutes of the game, answering every charge the Panthers (18-13) made along the way. The Panthers took their only lead of the game with 2:15 left, but Bradley scored the last five points of the game. J.J. Tauai led the Braves with 16 points and Franklin’s shot capped a 12-point effort. Northern Iowa was led by Grant Stout’s 19 points and nine rebounds.
In the first game of the evening session, No. 2 Creighton broke away from No. 10 Indiana State with the last ten points in the first half, then a 10-2 run to open the second half en route to a 59-38 win. The 38 points allowed is a tournament record, as the Bluejays (20-10) held the Sycamores (13-18) to 23 percent shooting for the game and cashed in 17 turnovers for 21 points. Nate Funk led Creighton with a game-high 14 points.
Creighton’s opponent in the semifinals will be No. 3 Missouri State, which survived a terrific back-and-forth battle with No. 6 Wichita State by a 67-64 margin. With the score tied at 60, the Bears scored six of the next seven points to take the lead for good and held on as Matt Braeuer’s last-second three-pointer missed. Deven Mitchell led the Bears (22-9) with 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench. The Shockers (17-14), who were 13-27 on three-pointers, were led by Braeuer’s 18 points and got 17 from P.J. Couisnard. [3/02/07]
