EDWARDSVILLE – Murray State used an extended run down the stretch to win going away Monday, defeating SIUE 86-57 at First Community Arena.
The Cougars fell to 8-12 overall and 6-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Murray State has won four in a row and is 12-9 overall and 9-7 in OVC play.
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After a pair of free throws from Iziah James with 5:57 to play made it 72-56, Murray State closed out the game on a 14-1 run. The Cougars missed their last nine attempts.
"It was a 14-point game, we missed a layup that we should have made," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "That's where it turned."
Murray State was 31-58 (53 percent) from the field and knocked down 12 of 23 (52 percent) three-point attempts. The Racers knocked down seven three-pointers in the first half and led 46-30 at halftime.
"They hit six three's early," Barone said. "We tried changing up a couple of things defensively. You pick your poison with certain defenses and they capitalized on it."
Tevin Brown was 6 for 9 from three-point range and finished with 18 points. K.J. Williams scored a career-high 28 points to lead Murray State. He grabbed 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year.
Mike Adewunmi paced SIUE with 17 points and seven rebounds. Shamar Wright scored 14 points. It is the fourth straight game he has scored in double figures and the sixth time in his last seven games.
The Cougars combined to shoot just 36 percent from the field and were 5 of 18 from three-point range.
"It comes down to moving the ball and taking bad shots," Barone said. We had some success when we took good shots and had some good buckets."
SIUE returns to the road for a Thursday game at Austin Peay before facing the Racers again Saturday in Murray, Kentucky.
"We'll take the day off tomorrow and we'll be ready for practice on Wednesday," Barone said. "These guys keep on battling."
