ISU clinches No. 2 seed

Posted March 01, 2008 10:00 pm

Associated Press

Osiris Eldridge scored 27 points to lead Illinois State to a 57-49 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday in Carbondale, clinching the No. 2 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

Eldridge carried the Redbirds (22-8, 13-5 MVC) throughout the contest as he shot the team into a 16-9 early lead. He connected four times from beyond the 3-point arc and hit 5 of 8 free throws.

Southern Illinois (17-13, 11-7 MVC) couldn't respond to Eldridge's output, despite senior Randal Falker's 18-point, 14-rebound effort.

Creighton 111, Bradley 110 (2 OTs): Cavel Witter doubled his career-high with 42 points and scored the last 10 for host Creighton in double overtime to lead the Bluejays past Bradley. The win clinched the fourth seed for the Jays (20-9, 10-8) for the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference tourney.

The Braves (17-14, 9-9), who beat Creighton by 28 points two weeks ago, had a chance to win the game at the buzzer in regulation and both overtime periods. Theron Wilson was called for an offensive foul as time expired the first time, Daniel Ruffin missed in overtime and Sam Singh came up short at the final horn.

Green Bay 71, Loyola 66 (OT): Mike Schachtner scored a team-high 27 points, including a game-tying basket with nine seconds left in regulation, as Green Bay (15-14, 9-9 Horizon) rallied to defeat Loyola. Ross Forman had career highs of 28 points and 15 rebounds for the Ramblers, and J.R. Blount added 25 points.

The Phoenix survived a 6:24 scoreless drought down the stretch before forcing overtime.

UIC 63, Milwaukee 55: Scott VanderMeer scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead visiting Illinois-Chicago to a victory over Milwaukee. Both teams are 9-9 in the Horizon League and tied for fourth place.

Central Michigan 80, NIU 73: Darion Anderson led the Huskies with 23 points and 11 rebounds but Central Michigan (12-15, 7-7 MAC) defeated NIU (6-19, 3-10) in DeKalb.

IUPUI 72, WIU 54: IUPUI (24-6, 15-3 Summit League) opened the game with a 13-2 run and easily took care of visiting Western Illinois (12-17, 7-11).