Sangamon Sun

Tourney-Bound Cougars Continue Road Trip at Tennessee State

Game 29
SIUE Cougars (17-11, 8-7 OVC) 
at Tennessee State Tigers (16-12, 8-7 OVC) 
Saturday, February 18, 3:30 p.m. 
Gentry Center (9,100), Nashville, Tennessee

LAST TIME OUT 
A strong shooting night and balanced scoring weren't enough for SIUE Thursday night as the Cougars fell on the road to UT Martin 90-84. Both teams struggled to score out of the gate, with more than two and a half minutes of game time gone before UT Martin took a 2-0 lead. The Skyhawks pushed their lead to 20-9 before the Cougars responded with a 9-0 run. Jalen Hodge put the Cougars in front for the first time at 26-25 with a three-pointer with 6:08 left in the half. The Skyhawks responded with a 10-0 run to go back up by nine It was 44-33 with 2:03 to play in the half. SIUE scored the final six points and trailed 44-39 at the half.

TOURNAMENT BOUND
Despite Thursday's loss, SIUE has secured a spot in the OVC Tournament for the third consecutive year.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 12th season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars are 66-136 in the OVC. Brian Barone is 25-45 in his fourth season in the league.

RECORD WINS
With 17 overall wins, SIUE has won its most games at the Division I level. Seven road wins also is a program high at Division I. Eight OVC wins ties the program best. 

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 69th in the NCAA. Five Cougars appear in the top 14 individually in the OVC. 

DO IT FOR FREE
SIUE is second in the OVC in free throw percentage at .733. The Cougars lead the league in free throws made per game at 16.5, which ranks 16th in the NCAA and attempts at 22.7, which is 17th nationally. SIUE has had eight 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.

WRIGHT PLACE
With 15 points against UT Martin, Shamar Wright eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for his career, becomming the 17th player at SIUE to do so. He has 1,040 career points, which is 15th all-time at SIUE. He is averaging a career-best 10.9 points per game. He scored a season-best 19 against Southern Indiana. 

Original source can be found here