ST. LOUIS—Kyle Weems scored on a driving shot in the lane with 1.4 seconds to go, capping top-seeded Missouri State’s 11-0 closing run in a 58-56 victory over Southern Illinois on Friday in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.Weems, the conference player of the year, scored all but one of his 14 points in the second half after missing all seven shots in the first half. He finished 5-for-15 but made his last three shots, two of them 3-pointers.Adam Leonard scored 20 points for Missouri State (24-7), with two of his five 3-pointers coming in the finishing surge. The Bears beat eighth-seeded Southern Illinois for the third time despite shooting 33 percent.Mamadou Seck had 15 points and 14 rebounds for Southern Illinois (13-19). The Salukis’ last points came with 2:48 to go when Justin Bocot scored on a drive for a 56-47 lead.
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ST. LOUIS—Garrett Stutz scored 16 points, leading Wichita State to a 70-56 victory over Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals Friday.No. 2-seeded Wichita State (24-7) opened the second half with a 12-4 run to go up 47-26 and cruised to its third victory this season over the Braves (12-20).Stutz, a 7-foot sophomore, hit 5 of 7 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the free throw line. The Shockers’ Joe Ragland added 11 points.The Braves had three players in double figures: Andrew Warren with 17, Dodie Dunson with 14 and Will Egolf with 12.Wichita State finished the first half by outscoring the Braves 9-0 in the final 3:26.Stutz started the run with a jumper and a long 3-pointer. A fast-break layup by Ragland followed, and then Gabe Paul converted a layup just before the buzzer for a 35-22 halftime lead.
