EDWARDSVILLE – Shamar Wright triggered a second-half surge to guide the SIUE men's basketball team past Eastern Kentucky 83-75 on Saturday at the First Community Arena at the Vadalbene Center.
Wright, a 6-foot, 7-inch freshman, scored a season-best 20 points to help the Cougars snap a four-game skid and improve to 6-19 overall, including a 3-9 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. Eastern Kentucky slipped to 12-13 and 9-3 and saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
"We came out aggressively, had a stoic attitude and played with the attitude of…let's go out and take care of business," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "Every win is a big win, but we needed this one and we needed it the way it happened tonight."
Wright's season-best 20 points ignited the Cougars and teammate Anselm Uzuegbunem registered his first double-double of his SIUE career with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Jackson also pitched in 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Teammate Tyresse Williford added eight points, six rebounds and five assists.
"We wanted this win," Barone said. "You could see it in our players' eyes. They are drawing on their experiences and said enough is enough."
Wright scored six consecutive points early in the second half when the Cougars turned a 42-41 deficit into a 47-42 lead. Wright scored 17 of 20 points in the second half. Uzuegbunem sank a pair of free throws with 1:17 remaining to stretch SIUE's advantage to 76-67 and ensure the victory.
"Statistically, it's the best game I've had this season," Uzuegbunem said. "I was playing hard."
So was Wright, who made 6 of 10 shots, including 2 of 3 from three-point land. He also converted six of seven free throws, grabbed five rebounds and had four assists. Wright's previous best was 18 points against UT Martin on Jan. 25
"Today was more of a fun game," Wright said, noting the SIUE win, "and I got comfortable with my shooting."
Barone pointed out, "Big A (Uzuegnunem) set the tone defensively tonight and finished at the rim. He has the respect of a lot of people and he deserved a game like this.
"And Shamar is playing with a great confidence and he set the tone for us as the point guy on our press," Barone said. "The other guys fed off him."
Jackson also earned praise for his play. "He stepped up, played above the rim and did a heck of job," Barone said.
The Cougars, who trailed 30-28 at half, come out quickly after that and stretched their lead to 51-39 through the second half. The Colonels made a couple of runs at them, but the Cougars refused to relinquish the lead.
"There were a lot of emotional moments in the game and I like how our guys played through them," Barone said. "Sometimes when you aren't winning, the emotions tend to go at each other."
Not this time. The Cougars put the finishing touches on their victory.
"It was a game where we executed for 40 minutes," Barone said.
SIUE made 26 of 55 shots (47 percent), including 6 of 14 from three-point range. The Cougars helped themselves by sinking 25 of 32 free throws and outrebound the Colonels 48-34. Eastern Kentucky's erratic three-point shooting – 7 of 37 – hounded the visitors. Jomaru Brown's 21 points led the Colonels.
It played out as a see-saw first half and the Cougars had control of it for much of the time, even though they trailed at the break. They scored the first nine points and led 16-2 five minutes into the game. However, the Colonels responded with a spree of their own and went ahead for the first time at 23-21 with five minutes to play in the half.
It's travel time for the Cougars next week. They play Thursday at Eastern Illinois and Saturday at Southeast Missouri. SIUE then returns home to meet OVC co-leaders Austin Peay (Feb. 20) and Murray State (Feb. 22).
More like this:
