The Salukis were able to deliver on senior day and claim the sixth seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in front of a sold out crowd at SIU Arena.

For the first time since March 1, 2008, SIU (13-19, 9-9) was able to play in front of a full house against the Illinois State University Redbirds (16-14, 9-9) in a 66-65 win. The last sellout in SIU Arena was also against the Redbirds.

Freshman Tyler Smithpeters hit a 3-pointer with 9.1 left to put the Dawgs ahead.

Sophomore Anthony Beane led all scorers with 21 points. Senior Desmar Jackson scored at least 10 points in every game this season and finished off his career in SIU Arena with 18 points.

The Salukis play the University of Northern Iowa Friday at 8:35 p.m. at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

Tyler Dixon can be reached at [email protected] , @tdixon_de on Twitter or 536-3311 ext. 282.