Rice helps Drake top Southern Illinois 75-68 in OT
January 18th, 2012 by Ric Hanson
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Rayvonte Rice hit two free throws to force overtime, then made a fast-break layup to put Drake ahead to stay in a 75-68 victory over Southern Illinois on Wednesday night. Rice, who finished with 18 points, made two foul shots to tie the game 63-63 with 30 seconds left. He then broke 64-64 tie with his basket with 3:12 remaining in overtime. Ben Simons’ 20 points led the Bulldogs (12-7, 5-3 Missouri Valley), who won their fourth in a row for their longest winning streak in two years. Aaron Hawley added 16. He and Simons hit three 3-pointers apiece. Jeff Early had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Salukis (6-13, 3-5), and Mamadou Seck had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Dantiel Daniels matched Early with 15 points, and Kendal Brown-Surles had 13, including three 3-pointers. Neither team ever led by more than seven points.