COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – SIUE men's basketball put up one its best performances of the year, overpowering Tennessee Tech 81-63 Thursday at the Eblen Center.

SIUE improved to 8-10 overall and 6-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

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"We got defensive stops which led to baskets, we shared the ball and we made shots," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "It wasn't just making shots. We had some good defensive rotations, we had great communication. Overall this was probably our most complete performance."

The win was the first-ever for SIUE at Tennessee Tech and was the sixth road win of the year, marking a program high for the Division I era.

"There is a very nice tradition (at SIUE) but in terms of those benchmarks that haven't been achieved yet, it's nice to be the first ones to do it," Barone said.

SIUE took a 13-11 lead on the first of three consecutive three-pointers by Mike Adewunmi and never looked back. The Cougars pushed their lead to 15 late in the half and led by 13 (45-32) at halftime.

Courtney Carter blocked a layup attempt to start the second half, sparking a 10-0 run by the Cougars to slam the door on the Golden Eagles.

"Coming out of half we got a stop right away and then we had an 'and-one' and back-to-back three-point plays," Barone said.

The Cougars' lead ballooned to as many as 27 late in the half.

SIUE enjoyed its best shooting night of the season, knocking down 58 percent (31-53) of its shots including going 12-20 (60 percent) from three-point range. The 12 three-pointers were the second-most in a game this year and the 60 percent success rate, the best of the year from three-point range.

The Cougars also racked up a season-best 25 assists.

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"A couple of times where we were about to take that second dribble or that third dribble and we got bodied up and it just clicked to kick it," Barone said. "We rewarded ourselves by making the shot on that kick."

Courtney Carter led four SIUE players scoring in double figures with 18 points. He was 7-11 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range. He added five assists. Mike Adewunmi finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He was 4-5 from three-point range and added six assists. Shamar Wright scored 15 points while tying his career high with four assists. Carlos Curtis scored 13 points and dished our a career-best nine assists for the second straight game.

Seven players had at least an assist in the game for SIUE.

"It got contagious where guys were talking," Barone added. "They're saying 'I got you on the next one, or I got you, so now you get me.' That was fun to hear in the huddle. They were understanding how they were sharing the ball. And defensively, we switched a lot tonight. And when you think about it, switching on defense is the same concept. On both ends of the court our communication and our selflessness were really apparent."

Tennessee Tech, which fell to 2-19 overall and 2-12 in the OVC, shot 44 percent (27-62) from the field and was 5-20 from three-point range.

Jr. Clay led the Golden Eagles with 19 points.

The Cougars continue the road trip with a Saturday afternoon game at Jacksonville State.

"That is now back-to-back games where we have taken care of the ball for the most part," Barone said. "And we need to do it again on Saturday."