Davion Sykes made a game-winning layup with 4.1 seconds remaining to give No. 8 seed Southern Illinois an 86-85 victory against No. 9 Indiana State in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
Ali Dibba had 30 points and nine rebounds for the Salukis (14-18), who advanced to play top-seeded Drake on Friday in the quarterfinals. Kennard Davis added 22 points and Drew Steffe 10. Sykes finished with eight points off the bench.
Aaron Gray had 27 points and eight rebounds for the Sycamores (14-18).
Illinois State 70, Missouri State 54
Johnny Kinziger had 13 points in No. 5 seed Illinois State’s first-round victory against No. 12 Missouri State. The Redbirds (19-13) play No. 4 seed Belmont in the quarterfinals.
Dalton Banks added 12 points and eight assists and Chase Walker scored 11 for ISU. Vincent Brady II and Michael Osei-Bonsu led the Bears (9-23) with 10 points apiece.
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
