Sangamon Sun

Men's Basketball Blows By St. Ambrose for Fifth Straight Win

SIUE men's basketball defeated St. Ambrose 89-54 Tuesday and, in the process, matched a pair of program highs. The Cougars won their fifth consecutive game tying the longest winning streak at the Division I level and earned their sixth nonconference win of the year, matching last year's team for the most nonconference wins in a season.

SIUE improved to 6-2, while playing just its second home game of the season.

"To get the fifth game in a row to end November is a good accomplishment for us," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "We talked about getting the ball reversed, getting in the paint, hitting step-in threes and being aggressive."

The Cougars led 47-30 at the break but held St. Ambrose to 24 points on 31 percent shooting after halftime.

"We responded accordingly coming out of halftime and the first media timeout and we took off from there," Barone added.

Four SIUE players scored in double figures led by Terrance Thompson's career-high 15 points. He was 7-9 from the field. He added four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

"I was reading what the defense gave me and my teammates found me when I was open so credit to them," Thompson said. "I was just staying in the flow of the game and not forcing anything."

Ray'Sean Taylor scored 13 points and added six rebounds and four assists. Lamar Wright scored 12 points and knocked down his first three attempts from three-point range.

"When I play the game, I just shoot what comes to me and my teammates were finding me open and I am appreciative of the that," Wright said. "And I was able to knock down the shots."

Damarco Minor added 10 points.

SIUE dominated St. Ambrose down low, finishing with a 40-20 edge in points in the paint. The Cougars forced 19 turnovers from the Fighting Bees which resulted in 20 SIUE points. SIUE finished with 13 steals, one shy of its season high.

SIUE tied a season-high with 19 assists and turned the ball over just nine times itself.

"I think the ball moved relatively well today," Barone said. "It's nice to see the ball move like that for sure."

For the game, the Cougars connected on 31-63 shots (49 percent) and veven players off the SIUE bench scored 42 points. The Cougars outrebounded the Fighting Bees 41-33.

Amarey Wills scored 10 points and was the only St. Ambrose player in double figures.  

The Cougars remain home to face Troy in a Saturday afternoon contest at First Community Arena.

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