EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. - Joel Jaye pumped in 18 points as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville handled Southwest Baptist 74-56 in men's basketball action Monday night at the Vadalabene Center.
         Jaye used an dunk with seven seconds left to make himself the game's leading scorer. Anthony Jones had 17 points for the Cougars off the bench. J.B. Jones recorded his first double-digit scoring outing with 12 points before fouling out of the game.
         The Cougars have now won six straight games in advancing their record to 7-2. SIUE faces Blackburn at the Vadalabene Center on Wednesday. Game time is scehduled for 7:30 p.m.
         SIUE struggled on offense in the first half with 18 of its 26 turnovers coming in the first 20 minutes of the game. Southwest Baptist, however, couldn't convert and were behind the Cougars 29-24 at the break.
         The Cougars stepped up their offense in the second half, shooting 55.6 percent from the field. Defensively, SIUE held Southwest Baptist to a 28 percent shooting night (17-60) and a 4-of-22 effort (18.2 percent) from three-point range.
         The Bearcats took a brief lead in the second half as Sheldon Pace hit a pair of free throws at 14:51. That gave Southwest Baptist a 37-36 edge.
         SIUE took the lead back at 14:38 as Tim Bauersachs hit a shot in the paint. The Cougars would not look back continuing to build the lead right up to the final buzzer.
                  -siue cougars-