With 20 seconds left in the overtime, Saluki guard Xavier Johnson made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 72. On the next possession, Missouri State’s Donovan Clay hit a game-deciding jumper for the Bears after having trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half.
The SIU Salukis (14-8, 6-5) fell to the Missouri State Bears (13-9, 5-6) by a score of 76-75 in overtime Wednesday night at the Banterra Center. SIU did not score in the final 4:02 in regulation, leading by eight at that point before Missouri State rallied back to tie it with 18 seconds left in the second half.
“Disappointed in the way we finished the game…we’ve got to do a better job of executing and being able to get stops,” Saluki head coach Bryan Mullins said. “We’ve got to be able to close games out here, especially at home.”
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Wednesday night was the first time SIU had played an overtime game at the Banterra Center since February 2018, and the first such occurrence under Mullins.
The Salukis lost the turnover battle, giving it up 16 times while Missouri State only committed seven turnovers. SIU had previously committed 18 turnovers on Saturday against Murray State, a game the Dawgs came back to win after similarly trailing by double-digits.
Johnson and Troy D’Amico combined for nine of those turnovers. Despite leading the team with 28 points, Johnson took accountability for the loss.
“Not good leadership on my part,” Johnson said. “Making sure that we just remained locked in through the rest of the 20 minutes of the half and keeping our foot on their necks.”
After a great first half, it seemed like the Salukis were headed for their third straight win. Johnson, D’Amico and Trent Brown combined for eight three-pointers in the first half, taking a 42-31 lead into half.
While those three finished with double-figures, the Bears had five players cross the 10-point mark, including Clay with a team-high 24 points on 12-for-17 shooting.
The Salukis will travel to Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 3 to take on the UIC Flames (8-14, 1-10) at 1 p.m.
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“We’ve got to have a great practice tomorrow,” Mullins said. “We’ve got to get up, we’ve got to get better here. We’ve proven we can play with anybody in this league. We’ve got to finish out, got to close a couple of these tough games that we’ve lost here.”
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Jamilah Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.
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