ST. LOUIS, MO. – Senior guard Isaiah Rivera scored 16 of the Flames’ 21 points in the two overtimes, sparking No. 11-seed UIC to an 84-82 victory past No. 6-seed Southern Illinois in the first round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday night at the Enterprise Center.
The Flames earned their first victory in the MVC Tournament and became the first No. 11 seed to advance to the quarterfinal round. It marked the first overtime game in the MVC Tournament since Drake beat Missouri State, 79-78, in the semifinal round of the 2022 tournament. It was the first double-overtime game since UNI trimmed Missouri State, 79-74, in the 2004 championship.
The Flames, snapping a three-game losing streak, improved to 12-20. This was the Flames’ first victory of the season over Southern Illinois in three outings.
Rivera tied a career high with 27 points he set in his previous encounter with Southern Illinois. He averaged 24.7 points in three games against the Salukis.
A driving layup by C.J. Jones with 6.8 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 63-63 sending it into overtime. Rivera scored all of the Flames’ eight points in the first overtime. After back-to-back, three-point baskets from Trent Brown and Troy D’Amico gave the Salukis a 71-69 advantage with 27 seconds left, Rivera sent the game into a second overtime by sinking two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to tie the game at 71-71.
Xavier Johnson, the leading scorer in the MVC, enjoyed his 18th 20-plus scoring game by tallying 27 points while moving into No. 3 on the Salukis single-season points at 707. He also added seven assists.
UIC junior guard Ethan Pickett notched a season high with 15 points. Sophomore guard CJ Jones scored in double figures for the 14th time in his last 16 games, finishing with 15 points. His layup with :06 left in regulation sent the game to overtime.
Southern Illinois, suffering its third straight loss, fell to 19-13 overall.
Junior guard AJ Ferguson earned his second double-double of the season with 12 points and career-high 14 rebounds for the Salukis. Fifth-year guard Trent Brown finished with 16 points, making five three-point baskets marking the third time he had five or more treys in a game.
UIC shot 56.3 percent (18-32) while committing just one turnover in 29 possessions to build a 41-27 halftime lead. After UIC enjoyed its biggest lead at 45-29, UIC responded with an 11-0 run to pull within 45-40 with 11:53 following a layup by Johnson. Two free throws by Johnson with 7:15 left gave the Salukis a 50-49 advantage - their first lead since early in the first half, while igniting a string of 10 straight points he would score during a 2-minute 35-second span to push their lead to 58-51.
In the second overtime, Rivera scored five straight points to give UIC a 76-74 lead with 2:43 remaining. A basket from Jaden Brownell and two free throws from CJ Jones later gave UIC an 80-76 advantage with1:02 left. The Salukis pulled within 80-79 on a three-point play by Kennard Davis with 47 seconds remaining. But Rivera answered with a layup and a free throw to account for the final victory.