Four Salukis earned Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball awards, the league announced Tuesday.

Senior guard Tyler Smithpeters, junior guards Sean Lloyd and Armon Fletcher and junior center Kavion Pippen each were recognized for their play this season.

Smithpeters, a Harrisburg, Illinois native, was named the MVC’s Sixth Man of the Year. He is the leading 3-point shooter for SIU with 45 made attempts this season and is averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

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The most notable stat is that the Salukis are 11-5 when Smithpeters hits multiple 3-pointers in a game. Smithpeters is the first Saluki to win the award since Tony Young in 2005.

Fletcher was named All-MVC Second Team.

Since he moved into the guard/forward hybrid role due to SIU’s notable injuries, Fletcher has improved his scoring output to 14.2 points per game, the highest on the team. He also averages 5.1 rebounds per game.

Fletcher has been clutch in key moments this season, hitting game-winning buckets in two separate MVC games against Valparaiso and Missouri State.

Pippen was named to the All-MVC Third Team and to the All-MVC Newcomer Team. He is averaging 12.3 points per game while leading the team with 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

The nephew of the NBA legend Scottie Pippen was a dominant scorer in the paint this season, scoring double digits in all but seven of Southern’s 31 games.

Lloyd notched MVC All-Defensive Team honors. He is averaging 11.9 points, five rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

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As the top defensive player on the team, Lloyd guards the top opposing scorer commonly and is third in the MVC in minutes per game with 34.4. Lloyd played for over 40 minutes in multiple overtime games this season.

The MVC All-Bench Team and Most-Improved Team will be announced Wednesday.

Sports writer Ryan Demer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @RyanDemer_DE 

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