Northern Iowa’s Tytan Anderson scored 19 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in the Panthers’ win over Belmont on Friday. (Photo courtesy: MVC)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — After a Day 1 full of upsets at the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Championship Tournament, Day 2 was all about the big boys showing why they are the big boys.
The top four seeds all won their games on Friday to advance to the semifinals on Saturday.
MVC Arch Madness Tournament
Saturday, March 9, Semifinals — Enterprise Center
Semifinal #1 – No. 4 Northern Iowa vs. No. 1 Indiana State, 2:30 pm, CBS Sports Network
Semifinal #2 – No. 3 Bradley vs. No. 2 Drake, 5 pm, CBS Sports Network
The top three seeds, Indiana State, Drake, and Bradley, all won in blowouts, while No. 4 seed Northern Iowa was tested, but held on for a tense win over No. 5 seed Belmont.
Here’s a quick recap of each game from Friday:
#1 Indiana State 75, #9 Missouri State 59
Sophomore guard Ryan Conwell scored a game-high 20 points to lead top-seeded Indiana State to a 75-59 win over No. 9 seed Missouri State in the opening game of the MVC Tournament quarterfinals, Friday afternoon at Enterprise Center.
Three other Sycamore players reached double figures, including Robbie Avila, who had 14 points and four assists, Isaiah Swope, who had 13 points, and Jayson Kent, who had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Indiana State grabbed the lead early and relinquished it, thanks in part to its hot three-point shooting. The Sycamores hit 10 three’s to stay in control.
Missouri State was led by Donovan Clay, an Alton, Ill. native, who had 18 points.
Indiana State is now 27-5 on the season and will play in the MVC Tournament semifinals on Saturday. Missouri State finished its season with a 17-16 record.
#4 Northern Iowa 67, #5 Belmont 62
Tytan Anderson was an unstoppable force for Northern Iowa. The 6-foot-6 junior from Eldridge, Iowa, posted 19 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Panthers to a thrilling 67-62 win over Belmont.
The back and forth contest featured five ties and 15 lead changes, with neither team leading by more than five points.
Belmont took its last lead with just over six minutes left, following a layup by sophomore big man Malik Dia. But a technical foul and a three-pointer by Northern Iowa gave the Panthers back the lead, which they never relinquished.
Three other UNI players scored in double figures, including Jacob Hutson, who had 14 points, Nate Heise had 13 points, and Trey Campbell added 11.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie led Belmont with 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
Northern Iowa improved to 19-13, while Belmont fell to 20-13. The Bruins will wait to see if they receive a bid to play in the NIT.
The Panthers will play top-seeded Indiana State in the tournament semifinals, Saturday at 2 p.m.
#2 Drake 79, #10 Evansville 58
Defending tourney champ Drake looked every bit like the champs on Friday, as it blew past Evansville for a 79-58 win.
The Bulldogs led by 21 points at halftime and maintained a nearly 20-point edge for most of the second half.
MVC Player of the Year, Tucker DeVries led the way with 19 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Teammates Atin Wright and Kyron Gibson added 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
Yacine Toumi led Evansville with 14 points and nine rebounds, as the Purple Aces ended their season with a 16-17 record.
Drake is 26-6 and will face Bradley in the semifinals.
#3 Bradley 74, #11 Illinois-Chicago 47
After a tight and well-played first half by both teams, Bradley simply smothered Illinois-Chicago in the second half of what would become a 27-point win.
The Braves went on a 25-4 run early in the second half to take control of the game and never looked back as they held UIC to just four made shots in the second half.
Junior guard Connor Hickman tied a career-high with six three-pointers, as he led Bradley with 20 points. Teammate Duke Deen added 10 points and five assists to help the Braves improve to 22-10 on the season.
Bradley and Drake will play in a rematch of last year’s Arch Madness title game, which Drake won 77-51.
