Sangamon Sun

Shamar Wright's 18 Leads Cougars to Win in OVC Opener

Shamar Wright's 18 points led three SIUE players in double figures as the Cougars opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 64-51 win over Tennessee Tech Thursday at First Community Arena.

SIUE has won three straight and nine of its last 11 games to improve to 10-4 overall. The 10-4 starts is the best for SIUE at the Division I level. It is the earlies SIUE has won 10 games since the 2004-05 team won its 10th game December 19.

"This was an Ohio Valley Conference game," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "Nobody could really separate. There's a lot of talent on that Tennessee Tech team and they made it a battle tonight."

 Wright scored 18 points on 8-11 shooting. He knocked down both of his three-point attempts and added five rebounds, three steals and four blocks, which tied his career high. Wright scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half.

"In the first half it was my time in the second half it wasn't," Shamar Wright said. "At the end of the day it doesn't matter who has what stats, it's about the W and that's what we got tonight."

Ray'Sean Taylor scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. DeeJuan Pruitt scored 13 points and hauled in a game-high nine rebounds. It was the second straight game he has come within a rebound of a double-double. Terrance Thompson added eight points and four rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

"We have a lot of guys who can play basketball," Shamar Wright said. "It's about finding our guys in their spots."

SIUE used a 12-0 first-half run to lead 26-15 with just under six minutes to play before halftime. The Cougars pushed the lead to 13 before taking a 10-point (36-26) cushion into halftime.

Tennessee Tech responded after the half with an 8-0 start to the period to cut the lead back to 36-34. An immediate 9-0 run by SIUE put the Cougars back up double digits at 45-34.

"We weren't happy with the (Tennessee Tech) run, but our guys responded again," Barone added. "It was a group effort, and it was fun to see."

Tennessee Tech never got closer than nine the rest of the way out and the Cougars pushed their lead to as many as 17 after two free throws from Taylor with 1:55 to play.

"When we utilize our options the way we need to, we can be very dynamic and difficult to guard," Barone said. "We have a group of guys that can go make a play for one another."

Neither team shot better than 40 percent from the field. SIUE connected on 25-63 (39.7 percent) of its shots, but finished with a significant rebounding edge at 42-33. The Cougars hauled in 16 offensive rebounds and scored 13 second-chance points.

SIUE forced the Golden Eagles into 14 turnovers and used them to score 16 points.

Jayvis Harvey scored 14 points to pace Tennessee Tech. Ty Perry scored 14 points and Jaylen Sebree added 11 points.

SIUE plays its first road conference contest Saturday, playing a 2 p.m. game at Southeast Missouri.

Original source can be found here