SIUE Defeats Tennessee State for Eleventh OVC Win; Heads to Morehead State Thursday for Last Regular Season Road Trip

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – After dropping only their second loss in home action against UT Martin on February 13, the SIUE Cougars (18-9, 11-5 OVC) bounced back with a 84-72 victory over the Tennessee State Tigers (13-14, 9-7 OVC) on Saturday, February 15 at the First Community Arena.

With the win, SIUE ensures their first-ever winning season in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in program history and are now tied for second place with Little Rock in the OVC standings with four regular season games remaining.

Four Cougars achieved double figures. Brian Taylor II scored 22 (5-8 FG, 3-5 3PT, 10-10 FT, 8 REB), one point shy of his season-high. Although Ray’Sean Taylor didn’t have the best first half, he knocked down 3 three-pointers in the second half to tally 15 points, along with 8 assists, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals. Ring Malith and Kyle Thomas scored 13 and 10 points respectively. In his second game back from an injury, Arnas Sakenis delivered on the defensive end, adding 5 blocks. Justus Jackson led Tennessee State in scoring with 15 points on 5-10 shooting.

Looking ahead, SIUE will begin their last road game trip of the regular season in the coming week, as they will travel to Morehead State (14-13, 9-7 OVC) to play on Thursday, February 20. Although Morehead State briefly led the OVC standings, they have now lost 6 of their last 7 contests, including 3 home losses. The Cougars will then head to Evansville, IN to play the University of Southern Indiana (USI), who are currently 9-17 overall and 4-8 in the OVC, tied for last place. USI has lost their last 6 matchups, including a 3-game home losing streak.

SIUE has beaten both these teams in First Community Arena earlier this season.

To view my entire article, head to Collinsville Daily News. To view the other photos I took at this game, head to my gallery.