Ron Jones

Ron Heflin

       LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Ron Jones hit two free throws with five seconds left as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville picked up its first road victory of the season in a 65-62 triumph at Bellarmine.
       Jones led all scorers with 23 points in helping the Cougars even their overall record at 6-6 and improve to 2-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Bellarmine fell to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in the GLVC.
       Ron Heflin added 19 points for the Cougars on 9-of-13 shooting.
       Adam Etienne led the Knights with 16 points off the bench.
       SIUE went out to a four-point lead at halftime as Jones pumped in 16 of his points before heading to the locker room. The junior from Kankakee hit a pair of three-pointers as SIUE was shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half.
       The Cougars slowed down in the second half, but the team's defense never allowed Bellarmine to have the lead. SIUE had as much as a 10-point lead with 15:38 to play when Jones hit one of his eight field goals.
       SIUE next heads to Northern Kentucky for a 3 p.m. EST contest with the Knights. Northern Kentucky took over sole possession of first place with an 83-71 victory over Lewis on Thursday.
              -siue cougars-