Sangamon Sun

Men's Basketball Welcomes UT Martin Thursday

Game 24
SIUE Cougars (14-9, 5-5 OVC) 
vs. UT Martin Skyhawks (15-8, 7-3 OVC) 
Thursday, February 2, 6:00 p.m. 
First Community Arena (4,000), Edwardsville, Illinois

LAST TIME OUT 
Morehead State used a 16-1 run midway through the second half to erase a 10-point deficit and score a come-from-behind win over SIUE. The Eagles downed the Cougars 55-50 Saturday at Johnson Arena. SIUE used a 9-0 first half run for its first lead at 11-7. The Cougars pushed their lead to as many as eight at 23-15 before the Eagles scored the final five points and SIUE took a 23-20 lead into the half. The Cougars built their lead to 41-31 with 9:55 left when the Eagles went on their run. Mark Freeman scored 11 straight points for the Eagles before a Shamar Wright free throw tied the game at 42-42. A Freeman three and a basket by Alex Gross completed the 16-1 run to give Morehead State a 48-42 lead and the Eagles never trailed again.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 12th season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars are 63-134 in the OVC. Brian Barone is 22-43 in his fourth season in the league.

RECORD WINS
With 14 wins, SIUE has won its most games at the Division I level.

BLOCK PARTY
SIUE tied the school record for blocks with 11 against Illinois Tech. The Cougars lead the OVC in blocks at 4.1 per game, which ranks 72nd in the NCAA. Four Cougars appear in the top 11 individually in the OVC. 

DO IT FOR FREE
SIUE leads the OVC in free throw percentage at .745. The Cougars lead the league in free throws made per game at 16.5, which ranks 17th in the NCAA and attempts at 22.1, which is 23rd nationally. SIUE has had seven games this year with at least 30 free throw attempts. The Cougars attempted 41 free throws Jan.5 vs. Tennessee State, which was the most in a single game since 2018.

MAJOR RECORD FOR MINOR
With his first free throw at Eastern Illinois, Damarco Minor set a new OVC record with 47 consecutive free throws made. The previous record was set by Morehead State's Glen Napier in 1981-82. Minor missed his next attempt, before beginning a new streak. He remains third nationally in free throw percentage at 93.5. 

Original source can be found here