UIC outlasts Southern Illinois 84-82 in OT in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament opener

ST. LOUIS — – Isaiah Rivera scored eight of his 28 points in the second overtime as 11th-seeded UIC upset sixth-seeded Southern Illinois 84-82 on Thursday in a first-round game in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

UIC advances to face the tournament’s No. 3 seed, Bradley in a quarterfinal Friday.

Rivera added nine rebounds and five assists for the Flames (12-20). Ethan Pickett scored 16 points, going 7 of 11 (1 for 4 from 3-point range). Christian Jones had 15 points and shot 6 of 15 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line.

Xavier Johnson led the way for the Salukis (19-13) with 27 points, seven assists and two steals. Trent Brown added 16 points for Southern Illinois. AJ Ferguson also had 12 points and 14 rebounds.

UIC entered halftime up 41-27. Pickett paced the team in scoring in the first half with 11 points. Jaden Brownell scored six second-half points and Jones hit the game-tying layup with six seconds left in the second half to send the game to overtime. Rivera finished 3 of 4 from the field on the way to his eight points in double.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.