ST, LOUIS, Mo. — For the third time this season, Southern Illinois junior center Kavion Pippen    as earned Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week award, the league announced on Monday.

Saluki Center Kavion Pippen

A 6-foot-10, 240-pound junior college transfer, Pippen led the Salukis to wins at Drake and versus Valparaiso last week. In the two games, he averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals, converting 15-of-19 (.789) shots from the field and 5-of-7 (.714) from the free throw line. Pippen had 21 points in the win over Valpo, including a critical three-point play with 2:07 to go that tied the game, 59-59, and started a 9-0 Saluki run to finish the game. He was 9-of-11 from the field against the Crusaders.

Earlier this season, Pippenwon Newcomer of the Week after the Salukis beat SIUE and San Jose State, plus the opening-weekend victory at Winthrop. The nephew of NBA legend Scottie Pippen is second on the team in scoring (12.2), and first in field goal attempts (249), field goal percentage (.550) and blocked shots (133). He has scored in double figures in all six games.

From Tony McDaniel – SIU Sports Information

CARBONDALE – Southern Illinois softball enters the 2018 season hoping to run to its first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006 and 2007.

Last season, the Salukis won 10 of their final 12 games against Missouri Valley Conference opponents on their way to the MVC Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament at the Oxford, Mississippi Regional.

With 2017 in the books, the 2018 Salukis are ready to write their own story.

“Last year we made a list of commitments. One of last year’s commitments was to be the best version of that team that we could be. We felt like we achieved that” Head coach Kerri Blaylocksaid. “This year, we rolled that commitment over again. We want to be the best version of this year’s team that we can be. You always have new people, new dynamics, new coaches and so on. What happened last year was awesome. Now we’re focused on doing the best we can for this group.”

While 2018 can be a big year for the team’s players, it will also be a historic one for the team’s head coach. Blaylock is entering her 19^th season at the helm of the Saluki softball program and is knocking on the door of some major milestones. Blaylock currently has 628 wins and is just six wins away from passing Kay Brechtelsbauer for Southern’s all-time lead in program wins. Brechtelsbauer’s mark currently stands at 633 wins. Blaylock will also manage her 1,000^th game on March 14^th against UT-Martin barring any cancelations due to weather. She is also eight wins shy of her 300^th win in the Missouri Valley Conference.

This season, the Salukis return a core of the 2017 team after losing just three seniors. While some of those seniors were impact players, the Salukis have the pieces in place to fill the vacancies left by the team’s graduating players.

Among the leading returners for the approaching season are the team’s senior captains Sydney Jones, Savannah Fisher and Savanna Dover. The three players make up a combined 352 starts and provides a core of experienced leadership to the defending MVC Tournament Champions.

“All three of these players are four-year starters. They’ve been in the program and they’ve been through great leadership. They understand what it takes,” Blaylock said. “It was a natural fit for our three. A cool thing that we have though is that Brittany Turner and Haley Andrus are both really good teammates and people. They have some natural leadership traits. Our three captains are our go to leaders, but all five seniors are pretty special.”

Jones and Fisher will lead an infield that returns four of its five starters from 2017. Jones and returning sophomores Katelyn Massa and Maddy Vermejan are all back after a season that earned all three of them All-MVC honors. Jones was a second-team selection thanks in part to her team-leading 9 home runs from 2017. Jones also turned in a .970 fielding percentage while playing the majority of her games at the hot corner.

Massa and Vermejan were both second-team selections in their first season with the Salukis. Massa unseated a senior to start in 43 games as a catcher or designated player in 2017. The freshman hit .297 with 22 RBI and five home runs while also posting a perfect fielding percentage and throwing out 11 runners attempting to steal. As for Vermejan, she hit .284 with 7 doubles and 20 RBI while posting a .990 fielding percentage that helped her add an All-MVC Defensive Team selection to her resume.

The only infield position that Southern does not return a starter for is first base, which departed senior Shaye Harre played for the last four seasons. Harre is tough to replace for Southern. She led the league in walks and doubles in 2017 and is the school record holder in career doubles and RBI and the single-season record holder in walks and doubles.

Luckily for the Salukis, a player that Harre mentored in 2017, sophomore Kyleigh Decker is slated to take the bulk of the starts at first in 2018. Last year, she played in 40 games and started 17 for Southern. Decker had a home run and five RBI in 2017.

“Kyleigh is a trained shortstop from the time she was little. She is very, very athletic. She’s done a great job over there at first,” Blaylock said. “As far as catching the ball and fielding the ball, she’s done a great job. You can’t say enough about her athleticism.”

Junior first baseman Jordan Spicer is the newest addition to the Saluki roster; she joined the team as a transfer from Belmont. Spicer started 89 games as a freshman and sophomore for the Bruins totaling seven home runs and 51 RBI. Spicer hit .319 for Belmont in 2017. She will get some starts at first in the upcoming season, but will likely see most of her playing time as a designated player.

Another important senior infielder returning in 2018 is Haley Andrus who will see time at third base and designated player in 2018. Andrus played mostly as a designated player in 2017 making 34 starts in 38 appearances. Andrus totaled 17 hits, a double, a home run and 12 RBI last season.

Southern also returns sophomore Bailee Pulley in 2018. Pulley appeared in 36 games and made one start last year playing mostly as a pinch runner. She scored 14 runs in her 2017 role.

In the outfield, the Salukis are returning two of their three starters from 2017 in junior Eyrika Brandenburg and sophomore Susie Baranski. Brandenburg hit .309 in 2017 for Southern with 28 runs scored and 23 RBI. Her 3 triples were tied for fifth best in the league. For Baranski, the young Saluki led the team in hits with 53, at-bats with 171 and is the leading returning player in walks with 31 and steals with 9. Baranski led the league in at-bats and total plate appearances and was top-10 in the MVC in runs scored, hits and walks.

Southern will have to replace another big bat in former centerfielder Merri Anne Patterson, but again, the pieces are in place to do so.

“We’re probably going to a freshman, Jenny Jansen, in centerfield as well as Maris Boelens a little bit,” Blaylock said. “Jenny can play center, short, third, really anywhere we want her. She is a phenomenal athlete. Maris is one of those truly gifted outfielders that can make it look really easy when she tracks down a ball.”

Jansen won back-to-back state championships in Missouri while hitting .538 with 14 home runs and 128 RBI and 40 steals in her time at Warrenton High School. Jansen was a four-time all-state selection in Missouri as a softball player and made the team two more times as a basketball player.

As for Boelens, she helped Alleman High School in Aledo, Illinois to a state championship in 2014 and won NSA National Championships in 2016 and 17 with her club team and third-place finish at the USSSA World Series in 2014. Boelens hit .438 with a .570 on-base percentage in 2015.

Megan Brown could be in the mix to fill the third outfield spot as well as returning senior outfielder Brittany Turner.

Turner played in 43 games and made one start in 2017. The majority of her action came as a pinch runner. She stole 3 bases on 4 attempts last season and had 4 putouts on 4 chances in the field.

Brown played for Dupo High School in Dupo, Ill. where she was an All-Conference, All-Metro and All-Area team selection all four years in high school. She also helped Dupo to a second place finish at the IHSA State Championship in 2016. Brown was a career .488 hitter with 22 home runs in high school.

Blaylock’s teams have always been led by strong pitching backed up by a solid defense. While she expects that to remain the same this season, Blaylock is fired up about her team’s offense.

“Coming out of preseason practice, I’m excited about watching our hitters hit,” Blaylock said. “I feel like Jen Sewell has prepared them so well and I’m excited to see that part of it. I’m super excited about our offense.”

As for Southern’s pitchers, its top-two arms return from 2017 including Dover and the staff’s ace Brianna Jones. Jones posted a 2.14 ERA in 2017 with 18 wins, 128 strikeouts and just 33 walks. Jones was top-10 in the MVC in wins, strikeouts, starts, appearances, games finished, saves and walks allowed. Her stellar marks earned her a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference first-team for the second-straight year. Jones also threw her first no-hitter last season in a February 11 game against Mississippi Valley State.

Dover, who was mentioned earlier as a team captain, posted a 2.87 ERA with 7 wins, 3 shutouts 56 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .245. Dover was top-10 in the league last season in hits allowed, runs and earned runs allowed, walks allowed, doubles allowed and home runs allowed.

Southern’s third pitcher is Brown who adds the role to her role as an outfielder.

“Megan was a very good high school pitcher.  She has command of the strike zone and is such a competitor.  She competes in everything she does which is why she will definitely get playing time,” Blaylock said. “I feel very good about where our pitching staff is right now.  They are experienced and tested.  I am looking for them to be settled and ready to go our first weekend out.”

Two more freshman join Jansen, Brown and Boelens as Saluki pups looking to make their mark. Shelby Hodo joins Massa on the roster as the only other player listed at catcher. In high school, she was the 5-6A Catcher of the Year in Texas and a member of the 5A All-State team in the state. Hodo helped her travel team, the Texas Glory, to the No. 14 ranking in the nation and a second place finish at the USSSA Nationals.

Freshman Meredith Wernig could feature as an infielder for the Salukis following a successful career for Lutheran South in Imperial, Mo. Wernig hit .487 with 27 RBI, 14 doubles and 4 home runs for her high school team.

Southern opens the 2018 season on Feb. 9 with a doubleheader against Abilene Christian and Texas-San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. The Salukis home opener is March 2 against Illinois and Murray State when the Salukis host the Coach B Classic. Valley play opens at home this year when Southern hosts Loyola in a double header on March 17. The season culminates in the MVC Championship in Des Moines, Iowa, May 10-13.

“We’re excited to get going,” Blaylock said. “We need to get our kids in game action. We need to play against someone that isn’t ourselves. We need to hit against somebody besides the coaching staff. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. Last year the most important part of the race was the end. If we can just keep that in mind, we will be good.”

By Tom Weber- SIU Sports Information 

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois scored nine unanswered points in the final two minutes to rally from a three-point deficit and beat Valparaiso, 65-59, in front of a raucous crowd of 5,694 at SIU Arena on Saturday night.

The Salukis (16-9, 8-4) played from behind most of the game, but drew energy from a packed student section to make a late surge.

Saluki Center Kavion Pippen survived his mid season slump, with 21 points six boards and four steals in SIU’s win last night. (Madison Case, SIU Sports Information, photo)

Trailing, 59-56, SIU center Kavion Pippen scored over 7-foot-2 center Derrik Smits, was fouled and completed the three-point play to tie it with 2:07 to go. After both teams had empty possessions, SIU’s Armon Fletcher hit the biggest shot of the game, draining a 3-pointer from the left corner with 44 seconds left to break the tie. The crowd erupted and everyone in the building could sense the tide had irreversibly shifted.

“I cried,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson, who grabbed the mic afterward and thanked the crowd. “I cry at a great-looking piece of brisket. I was emotional. I want to tell you right now, we don’t win the game unless it’s for the crowd.”

The game had big implications for Southern, which won its fifth-straight game and took sole possession of second place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings behind Loyola. The last four wins have all been decided in the game’s final minutes.

“With four minutes to go, for whatever reason, this year’s team lights up,” Hinson said. “We certainly don’t panic. We embrace it.”

The Crusaders (12-13, 3-9), who seemed to have answer to every Saluki run, missed their final five shots. Newcomers to the MVC, Valpo is still in search of its first league road win.

“I thought our youth showed a little bit tonight, but we were right there and if we execute a little better down the stretch and make some free throws, the outcome would be different,” said Valparaiso head coach Matt Lottich. Tevonn Walker led Valpo with 16 points but missed three crucial free throws late, including a one-and-one.

Both teams shot 49 percent form the field, but both teams struggled from long distance. SIU made 3-of-15 from three, while Valpo hit 6-of-19. The difference in the game was Pippen’s 21 points in the post and Southern’s 24-11 advantage in free throws. Both of Valparaiso’s 7-footers picked up four fouls.

“Our bigs weren’t allowed to be very aggressive,” said Lottich. “I think we got a little bit tentative and (Pippen) was able to get some deep spots on us.”

Valparaiso built a 31-25 halftime advantage despite committing 14 first-half turnovers. The Salukis had plenty of first-half opportunities but seemed to press on offense. They were just 1-of-10 from 3-point range.

“We kind of reverted back to our old ways there, took bad shots, became selfish, let our offense dictate how we played defense,” Hinson said.

The final 10 minutes of the game had fans on the edge of their seats with 10 ties or lead changes. SIU couldn’t string together a run and sew up the win until it absolutely had to.

A very loud crowd of nearly 6K was on hand to watch the Saluki’s comeback win against Valpo last night.

“I told our staff before the game we’re going to struggle today because of the crowd,” Hinson said. “I’ve been in it too long. We won’t the next time. I think we’ll embrace it next time. We were too juiced up. We looked like deer in the headlights.”

The victory was No. 300 for Hinson, who is in his 17th year as a Division I head coach.

“I’ve had the opportunity to coach basketball for 37 years,” he said. “God has blessed me being surrounded by unbelievable student-athletes and great assistant coaches.”

Last year’s maroon out game at the Arena (SIU Media Services photo)

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois hosts Valparaiso on Saturday night in a special Maroon Out game at SIU Arena. The Salukis are aiming for their first five-game winning streak in two years (the 2015-16 squad won six straight). The last time SIU won five-straight conference games was when it won 10 in a row during the 2006-07 Sweet 16 season. During the current winning streak, SIU is shooting .539 from the field and .463 from 3-point, while averaging 75.8 points per game.

The Salukis are 2-3 all-time versus Valparaiso with wins in 1979 and 1980, and losses in 1929, 1956 and 2018. The teams met at Valparaiso on Jan. 6, a game the Crusaders won, 83-72. Valpo used a 23-2 run in the final eight minutes of the first half to take control of the game. SIU’s Armon Fletcher had a career night with 32 points and 14 rebounds.

Head coach Barry Hinson met with the media prior to Thursday’s practice.

Valpo’s 7-footers gave you some problems the first game (Jan. 6) — what has to be different this time?
First of all, we have to play better. I specifically remember this game. Aaron (Cook) shouldn’t have played, he had the flu. Rudy (Stradnieks) had the flu. We had what I would say was a despicable day of preparation the day before Valpo — so bad that I threw them out of practice. We didn’t play hard. This wasn’t a fluke. They just absolutely whipped our butts. Certainly they have size, they destroyed us on the interior, they destroyed on the exterior. If we don’t play better the same result will happen. You can’t look at places in this league. You can’t look at records. We did everything we could do to beat Indiana State here, and Valpo beat them last night. Next game up, next play, here we go. That will continue to be our message.

Is there actually something you as coaches can do to improve the start of second halves? It’s up to the players, right?
I’m going to tell you what I did at Drake. We’d had it two-straight games in a row. At halftime I made all the managers and all the coaches come into the coaches locker room, separate of our players. I said, ‘when we walk out this door, I want nothing but positive energy. When we get out on the bench, I want you out on the floor, I want you tapping them, getting them going and all this stuff.’ I really thought I was going to get these guys going, and then (Drake) started whooping our butts. To answer the question, we’re going to do some different stuff with warmup and how we come back out on the floor as a group. Right now, we’re doing what I call the NBA two-line layup warmup. We’re more worried about how we look than getting our bodies ready. We’re going to come out with an absolute organized warmup (on Saturday).

How much pressure has there been on (Kavion) Pippen to be a difference maker?
I think we’re all dealing with pressure. We have no margin for error, none, zero. Even the guys coming off the bench, I hope they don’t feel pressure. It’s our responsibility as a staff to get these guys as comfortable to play as they can be on the floor, but they know, you’re magnified. If you come in the game and you don’t produce, and if you can’t help us, you can’t stay out there very long. Kavion hit the lull like most junior college players do. When we recruited Kavion, we recruited him to be the backup to Thik (Bol). Never once did he think he would be playing 30-plus minutes. Never once in junior college or high school did this young man play the amount of minutes that he’s playing right now, nor did he have the workload of what a student-athlete does every day. When that hits you, there’s going to be a period when that wears you down. I think we’ve gone through that lull period and he’s getting his second wind, and we need him to play well for us to be successful, specifically on Saturday.

Is there a part of you that’s afraid you peaked too early?
No. My experience has always been that the people that play well down the stretch play well in the last two weeks of January and the month of February. That’s the key. If you look at a week before the halfway mark, I told you guys to relax, not foreseeing what we’d do, but I specifically said that. I’ve been in this a long time, been in this league when they wanted to send the trophy at the halfway mark to somebody. It’s a long season, there’s a lot of games to go, there’s a lot of things that can happen on both sides. We feel like we’ve had some upsets. I don’t feel like we’ve gone into any games where you would say people upset us. I think we’re the underdog. Quite frankly, with the amount of guys we have, I think we’re going to be the underdog in every game we play. I’m ok with that. I’ll accept that role in a heartbeat.

What would win No. 300 in your career mean to you?
Hmm. First I’ve thought about it. I think it just tells you how fortunate I’ve been to have the amount of good players and great assistants. I think it speaks volumes with that right there. We have put ourselves in a position where you guys, I know you didn’t think we’d be this time of the year. Let’s just continue to do what we’re doing.

Have you gotten any reports on ticket sales for Saturday?
I’ve talked to our ticket office, our marketing people, our administration, and they said the phones are ringing off the wall, which is great news. I go out to eat every day, every lunch, and everywhere I’ve been people are excited and said they can’t wait to get to the game. We have special stuff planned for this game, specifically for our students, the dawg pound. I think it’s going to be an exciting atmosphere. It would be nice in all honesty, you have Valpo, Bradley, Loyola on Senior Night, and you have Missouri State, I think we have four games coming up, I’ll be disappointed if we don’t start tapping the 7,000 mark. You guys can help us with that as much as anything, spread the word.

Dawg Bites
•With a lifetime record of 299-232, Barry Hinson needs one more win to reach the 300-win plateau in his career.
•SIU has shot better than 50 percent during the second half in six-straight games.
•Five of SIU’s seven conference wins are by five points or less. The Salukis are 6-2 in games decided by five points or less this season.
•Barry Hinson (262) passed Gregg Marshall (261) on Saturday for fourth all-time among league coaches in wins.