EDWARDSVILLE – UT Martin shot a season-best 60.8 percent from the field Saturday and defeated SIUE men's basketball 79-62 at the Vadalabene Center.
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The Skyhawks shot out to an 11-0 lead to start the game and never trailed. UT Martin improved to 13-12 overall and 5-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars fell to 1-10 in the OVC and 4-19 overall.
After UT Martin's quick start, the Cougars pulled within two points at 29-27 with 5:44 to play in the first half after a Jake Newton three-pointer and a bucket by Carlos Anderson. Newton was the star of the first half for the Cougars with five three-pointers and a team-leading 15 points for the game.
"Each and every one of us loves the game," Newton said. "We come out every day in practice and get better and enjoy playing the game. It's a battle every day, but we can battle with the best of them."
Burak Eslik and Keenan Simmons joined Newton in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Anderson added six points and tied his career-high with six assists.
"The guys made shots and made plays tonight, and we had some good numbers," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "The bottom line was that we didn't get enough stops, and we didn't bring our defense with us. We have to be consistent on both ends."
The Skyhawks carried a 41-38 lead into halftime and quickly extended the advantage following the break. Twymond Howard completed a three-point play when he sank a free throw at 10:20 to push UTM's lead to 12 and the Cougars never got the deficit back under 10 points.
A Howard jumper at 5:23 gave the Skyhawks their largest lead of the game at 71-52. Howard paced the UT Martin attack with 23 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He was one of four Skyhawks in double figures.
Myles Taylor scored 17 points. Alex Anderson scored 14 points. Kedar Edwards scored 10 points and pulled in 11 rebounds.
Harris said the team continues to make progress despite the final score.
"The guys are on the same page and that part helps," Harris said. "The guys took a game plan tonight and did a good job executing, and that's growth."
The Cougars conclude a four-game home stand Thursday with a 7 p.m. game against Murray State.
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