EDWARDSVILLE – Kayne Henry scored a career-high 22 points to lead Jacksonville State by the SIUE Cougars 64-56 in an Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball game Saturday at the First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars, dropping their fifth consecutive game, fell to 4-15 overall and 1-5 in the OVC. The Gamecocks, snapping a three-game losing streak, improved to 8-11 and 3-3.
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"We need to be more consistent all of the time," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "When you aren't shooting well like it was today, that makes it hard to dig out of a hole."
Zeke Moore powered the Cougars with 16 points, including 11 the second half. Moore fueled a second-half comeback when SIUE sliced a 53-37 deficit with 7:15 remaining to 62-56 with 7.9 seconds to go. Yet the Gamecocks wouldn't let the Cougars get any closer.
"Jacksonville State hit two or three big shots when they (Gamecocks) had to have them," Barone said.
Henry might have put the finishing touches on the Jacksonville State victory when he sank a pair of free throw with 40.8 seconds to play. Overall, he hit 9 of 15 shots, sank all four of his free throws and snagged 14 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive end.
"He's a good player and he inspired them," Barone said of Henry. "His motor was big time for them today."
Moore provided the Cougars with some of the same of inspiration. He made all nine of his foul shots to go along with four field goals, including a 3-pointer.
"Coach gave me some confidence and we were trying to get some baskets and some stops on defense," Moore said of the Cougars' late rally. "Our mindset was to win."
Kenyon Dooling (seven points) and Iziah James (six points) and Cam Williams (six points) complemented Moore's big effort. Teammate Shamar Wright collected six rebounds as the Cougars outrebounded the Gamecocks 37-34.
However, SIUE couldn't overcome its inconsistent shooting. The Cougars made only 18 of 56 shots, including 3 of 16 from 3-point range. They did convert 17 of 22 free throws and had 17 turnovers, four more than the Gamecocks.
"We got back on our heels a little bit," Barone said of the Cougars' shooting. "It's tough when you aren't scoring."
Jacksonville State led 27-24 at half. Moore's five points were best for the Cougars, who made only 8 of 25 shots and made 11 turnovers. SIUE led by six points twice in the half.
The Cougars' homestand continues next week when SIUE plays host to Southeast Missouri at 7:30 and UT Martin at 4:30 on Saturday. SIUE then goes to Austin Peay (Jan. 30) and Murray State (Feb. 1) before returning home for two more OVC games. Austin Peay and Murray State both were 5-0 in league play going into Saturday's games.
"We need to have consistency from everybody in every area at the same time," Barone said. "Collectively, we need to be on top of our game, not just good enough."
He noted, "We have some things going in the right direction and we can build on that every day. We're building some genuine relationships here."
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