Southern Illinois holds off Loyola-Chicago 67-61 (Feb 04, 2017)

By AP
Published

CHICAGO (AP) Sean O'Brien scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Southern Illinois gained enough breathing room over the final three minutes to earn a 67-61 win over Loyola-Chicago on Saturday.

O'Brien finished 9 of 11 from the field and had four of the Salukis seven total assists. Mike Rodriguez scored 14 points and Armon Fletcher added 12 for Southern Illinois (14-11, 7-5 Missouri Valley). The Salukis are now 5-2 against their in-state rivals since the Ramblers joined the Missouri Valley in 2014.

Donte Ingram scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Loyola-Chicago (16-9, 6-6), who have now fallen a game behind the Salukis for third place in the conference. Milton Doyle had 15 points for the Ramblers.

Southern Illinois led 58-55 with two minutes left when Thik Bol threw home a dunk and added three free throws for an eight point Salukis lead with 30 seconds remaining.