Missouri State falls in overtime to Southern Illinois

Sean O’Brien scored five of his 24 points in overtime, Mike Rodriguez scored the winning free throw with 3 seconds left and Southern Illinois edged Missouri State 85-84 in OT on Saturday night.

Missouri State had a 40-28 halftime lead.

After Rodriguez put Southern Illinois up 84-79 with 6 seconds left in overtime, Missouri State’s Alize Johnson hit a pair of free throws. After Rodriguez hit his winning free throw, Johnson canned a three-pointer from half-court with .5 seconds left.

Johnson finished with a game-high 26 points. Dequon Miller added 15 for the Bears (14-9 overall, 5-5 Missouri Valley) and Jarred Dixon 14.

O’Brien grabbed four of his nine rebounds in OT, and also had a steal. He finished 11 of 13 from the floor, and also dished six assists for the Salukis (12-11, 5-5 MVC), who halted a three-game skid.

Sean Lloyd scored 15 points, Thik Bol 14 and Rodriguez 12 for Southern Illinois. Armon Fletcher added 10 points with 11 rebounds, his first double-double.

This story was originally published January 28, 2017 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Missouri State falls in overtime to Southern Illinois."