SMS Bears upset SIU in MVC tournament

ST. LOUIS -- Merrill Andrews scored 16 points and Blake Ahern and Anthony Shavies each added 14 points, leading fifth-seeded Southwest Missouri State to an 80-74 upset of No. 15 and top-seeded Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals Sunday.

Southern Illinois (25-4) won the Valley's regular season crown with a 17-1 record. The Salukis will have to qualify for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team as they have done for the past two years. The last 10 Valley regular-season champions have reached the NCAA Tournament. It has been nine years since the Salukis have won the conference tournament.

Southwest Missouri (19-13) will play Northern Iowa, a 63-56 winner over Wichita State in the other semifinal, in the title game tonight for an automatic bid to the NCAAs.

The Bears had lost six in a row and eight of their last nine games against the Salukis. It was the third consecutive year the two teams met in the tourney semifinals. Southwest Missouri has not won the Valley tournament since 1992.

Shavies snapped a 55-55 tie on a jumper with 5:58 to play. After Josh Warren hit a free throw for the Salukis, the Bears went on a 7-0 run with Andrews scoring four points and Tamarr Maclin, who finished with 12 points, making three free throws.

Darren Brooks led Southern Illinois with 15 points.