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Men's Basketball
UNI Falls In Overtime to Southern Illinois, 55-46
March 4, 2006
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Matt Shaw scored six of his 15 points in overtime, helping Southern Illinois hold off UNI 55-46 in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Saturday. Jamaal Tatum added 12 points and Bryan Mullins had 10, including a driving, twisting layup that forced overtime. Southern Illinois, the No. 2 seed, will play No. 5 Bradley in the championship game on Sunday. Ben Jacobson had 13 points and five assists and Erik Crawford added 11 points for sixth-seeded UNI (23-9), which shot only 35 percent and has lost five of seven. That slump for the preseason league favorites includes a one-point loss at Southern Illinois (21-10) in the regular-season finale last Saturday. The teams split regular-season meetings, one by a point and the other going to double-overtime, and this was more of the same. Neither team led by more than three points in the second half, a tight, defensive struggle. The layup by Mullins with 33 seconds left was the second tie of the half. UNI held the ball for a last shot, but Jacobson's 3-point attempt with about two seconds to go was long. Southern Illinois immediately took control in overtime on Randal Falker's dunk and resulting 3-point play with 4:42 left. Two free throws by Shaw made it 45-40 with 2:35 to go, and another basket from the key made it 47-42 with 1:48 left. Shaw also hit a pair of free throws with 1:08 to go to provide a five-point lead for the third time.
UNI led by as many as six points in the first half, despite shooting 30 percent and getting no points from Jacobson, who averages a team-leading 14 points. Southern Illinois closed the gap in the final three minutes with two baskets by Tatum, who had missed four of his first five shots, and a basket off a loose ball in the lane by Matt Shaw tied it at 20 with 2.5 seconds left.
The semifinals drew a record crowd of 17,772, over 2,000 more than the previous record. |
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