Fletcher fuels S. Illinois comeback 74-70 over Illinois St.

Jan 14, 2018, 01:52 am

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Armon Fletcher scored 26 points and slammed in the go-ahead dunk to lead Southern Illinois in a second-half rally for a 74-70 win over Illinois State on Saturday night.

Trailing by as much as 14, Southern Illinois (11-8, 3-3 Missouri Valley) dug in midway through the second half, getting a bucket from Kavion Pippen with 7:10 left to spark a 20-2 run to take its first lead of the game. Fletcher slammed in the go-ahead dunk, 64-63, with 3:20 left and capped the rally with a 3-pointer 44 seconds later to pad the advantage at four.

Sean Lloyd Jr. added 14 points and Pippen had 13 for Southern Illinois, which shot 70 percent (16 for 23) from the field in the second half to snap a four-game skid against Illinois State.

In the first half, the Redbirds (9-9, 3-3) scored 19 of the game's first 25 points to race to a double-digit advantage before Southern Illinois clawed back.

Phil Fayne led Illinois State with 24 points and 10 rebounds and Keyshawn Evans added 11.