Illinois State turns back Southern Illinois 76-68 in OT

Feb 9, 2018, 04:46 am

NORMAL, Ill. -- Elijah Clarance and William Tinsley combined for 29 points off the bench and Illinois State turned back Southern Illinois 76-68 in overtime on Thursday night.

Clarance hit 9 of 11 free throws and scored 15 with four rebounds and four assists, while Tinsley added 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range for the Redbirds (14-11, 8-5 Missouri Valley Conference), who won for the fourth straight time and split the season series with the Salukis (16-10, 8-5). The victory pulls Illinois State into a tie for second place in the MVC with Southern Illinois -- two games behind front-running Loyola-Chicago.

Taylor Bruninga's 3-point play for the Redbirds with 34 seconds left sent the game to overtime tied at 64.

It was all Illinois State in the extra period. Daouda Ndiaye hit 1 of 2 free throws to put the Redbirds up 65-64 and Matt Hein's 3-pointer pushed the advantage to 68-64. Sean Lloyd Jr.'s layup at the 2:06 mark was the only basket in overtime for the Salukis and cut their deficit to 68-66. But Hein, Milik Yarbrough and Clarance went 6 for 6 at the free-throw line in the final 49 seconds to seal the victory.

Kavion Pippen, Armon Fletcher and Lloyd scored 14 apiece to pace Southern Illinois, which saw a five-game win streak end.