Game 26

LAST TIME OUT
With the game tied at 81 with 2.1 seconds remaining in the contest, Ray'Sean Taylor knocked down a shot from beyond half-court at the buzzer. After official review, the call on the floor stood, giving SIUE an 84-81 victory over Little Rock on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center. The Cougars led by as many as 15 with 16:19 to play in the second half. The Trojans erased their deficit, bringing the game to within five points with just over five minutes to go. The Trojans' CJ White knocked down two free throws, forcing the Cougars to take a 60 second timeout to draw up a last second opportunity to prevent overtime. Taylor sealed the game following the timeout.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 12th season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars are 65-134 in the OVC. Brian Barone is 24-43 in his fourth season in the league.

RECORD WINS
With 16 overall wins, SIUE has won its most games at the Division I level. Six road wins equals the program high at Division I.

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 71st in the NCAA. Four Cougars appear in the top 14 individually in the OVC.

DO IT FOR FREE
SIUE leads the OVC in free throw percentage at .736. The Cougars lead the league in free throws made per game at 16.3, which ranks 20th in the NCAA and attempts at 22.1, which is 26th 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.

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 1,020 career points, which is tied for 15th all-time at SIUE. He is averaging a career-best 10.9 points per game. He grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds at Saint Louis.

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