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CARBONDALE, Ill. – Sean O'Brien scored 24 points and went 11-for-13 from the field to lead Southern Illinois (12-11, 5-5 MVC) past visiting Missouri State in overtime here Saturday, 85-84, in Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
The Saluki senior helped lead an 11-0 run by the home team midway through the second half to ignite the SIU offense after the Bears led 43-32 early in the final stanza. SIU used runs of 10-1 and 11-0 in the first 12 minutes of the second half to lead for the first time with 8:14 to play. A 3-pointer by Sean Lloyd from the left corner broke up a 51-51 tie.
 
SIU shot 60 percent from the field in the second half to lead the comeback.
 
The Bears (14-9, 5-5) were led by Alize Johnson with 26 points, while Dequon Miller scored 15 and Jarred Dixon posted 14 off the bench.
 
Missouri State got a key 3-pointer from Jarrid Rhodes late in regulation to tie the game, 69-69, with 13.5 seconds to go. MSU stood strong defensively, forcing Mike Rodriguez into a missed jumper before the horn.
 
In overtime, O'Brien posted three field goals in the first three minutes to push the Salukis ahead by as many as three. Southern also made 7-of-8 from the foul line in the final 13.5 seconds to keep the Bears just out of reach.
 
Still, Missouri State fought to the final horn before simply running out of time with momentum on their side. Miller and Johnson paced the offense in the extra period with Johnson pouring in 11 points. His half-court 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left in overtime made it a one-point game and gave the Bears a final opportunity. SIU's inbound pass was challenged by Ryan Kreklow but corralled by Rodriguez who finished with 12 points.

"I thought we just ran out of time," said MSU head coach Paul Lusk. "We had a lot of poise and momentum late in overtime, we weathered the storm of their comeback, and our guys fought to the final horn. I am proud of the way our guys competed and played despite some bad breaks toward the end."

For the game, MSU was 31-for-64 (.484), made 9-of-20 (.450) from long range and made good on 13-of-15 (.867) foul shots with a 33-31 rebounding advantage. The Bears also committed just 11 turnovers on the night. It was MSU's second straight one-point loss in overtime, including Tuesday's 72-71 home loss to Drake.
 
SIU was 31-for-57 (.544) from the field, 4-of-12 (.333) from long range and 19-of-26 (.731) from the line with 10 turnovers.
 
The Bears shot 63 percent from the field in the first half to bolt out to a 40-28 halftime lead.  Dixon accounted for 10 tallies in the first 20 minutes, including a personal 8-point run to help stretch the Bears' five-point advantage to nine in the span of less than three minutes.
 
With six-and-a-half minutes left in the half, the Bears opened up the heavy artillery, dropping in four 3-pointers in four minutes – including two by Miller to push the Bears ahead 36-24. An 18-footer by Dixon at the two-minute mark gave the visitors their biggest lead of the first half, 38-25, and helped push Paul Lusk's team to a double-figure lead at the break.
 
MSU returns home Tuesday for a 7 p.m. rematch against Loyola (16-7, 6-4 MVC) at JQH Arena. Tickets for the Loyola game may be purchased at the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena or by phone at (417) 836-7678. Regular-priced tickets are also available anytime at MissouriStateBears.com.