SIU’s Kennard Davis dives on the floor for a loose ball during Thursday’s MVC Tournament game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, between the Salukis and the UIC Flames. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — Day 1 of Arch Madness was the epitome of just that, as three of the lower-seeded teams in the four Missouri Valley Conference Tournament first round games pulled off upsets to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.
Ninth-seeded Missouri State began the day with a 60-35 beatdown over Murray State. No. 10 seed Evansville held off No. 7 Illinois State, 59-53. And in the evening’s finale, No. 11 Illinois-Chicago won a double-overtime thriller, 84-82, over No. 6 Southern Illinois.
In the day’s other game, No. 5 seed Belmont blew out No. 12 Valparaiso, 86-61.
Those games set up what should be a truly entertaining set of quarterfinals on Friday:
MVC Arch Madness Tournament
Friday, March 8, Quarterfinals — Enterprise Center
Game 5 – No. 9 Missouri State vs. No. 1 Indiana State, 12 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 6 – No. 5 Belmont vs. No. 4 Northern Iowa, 2:30 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 7 – No. 10 Evansville vs. No. 2 Drake, 6 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 8 – No. 11 Illinois-Chicago vs. No. 3 Bradley, 8:30 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Here’s a quick recap of Thursday’s first round games:
No. 9 Missouri State 60, No. 8 Murray State 35
In the first game of the day, the Bears suffocated Murray State from start to finish, limiting the Racers to one of the worst shooting halves in MVC tournament history.
Alston Mason scored 22 points and N.J. Benson added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Bears.
No. 5 Belmont 86, No. 12 Valparaiso 61
While the first game showcased defense, game two was an offensive display, at least for Belmont.
The Bruins started off strong, taking a 21-4 lead less than six minutes in, and never looked back in steamrolling Valparaiso.
The Bruins, who shot 52% and led by as much as 42, were able to get good shots at will, making 12 layups and hitting 10 3-pointers.
Big man Malik Dia led Belmont with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 10 Evansville 59, No 7. Illinois State 53
A late elbow stymied Illinois State’s rally as the Redbirds fell to Evansville.
Referees called a flagrant foul on Illinois State’s Myles Foster for an elbow with 37.7 seconds left, and that allowed the Aces to turn a perilous two-point lead into a five-point advantage as the Aces held on.
Evansville never trailed, but it rarely pushed the lead beyond single digits.
Ben Humrichous led the Aces with 15 points in the kind of physical, defensive struggle that MVC fans have become accustomed to, with the teams combining to shoot 35% from the field.
No. 11 Illinois-Chicago 84, No. 6 Southern Illinois 82, 2OT
The nightcap saw Southern Illinois trail big in regulation, rally, blow a six-point lead late in regulation, then eventually fall to Illinois-Chicago in double overtime.
UIC guard C.J. Jones, an East St. Louis native, tied it with a layup with six seconds left in regulation, sending it to the first overtime.
SIU’s Xavier Johnson, the league’s leading scorer, scored 27 points, but fouled out in the first overtime, as did fellow starter A.J. Ferguson.
With the Salukis down two starters, UIC led most of the second overtime and held off a late SIU charge.
Isaiah Rivera led UIC with 28 points. Jones added 15 for the Flames.
UIC is the first 11-seed to make the quarterfinals. They will face third-seeded Bradley on Friday night at 8:30 p.m.
