OWENSBORO, KY. -- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville scored its biggest win ever at the Owensboro Sportscenter on Thursday, dispatching the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers 79-63.
         The 16-point victory was the seventh double-digit victory of the season for the Cougars, which improved to 10-3 overall and 4-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. KWC fell to 5-9 and 2-5 in the GLVC.
         SIUE continues its road trip Saturday with a 3 p.m. match at PAC Arena in Evansville, Ind. The Cougars take on No. 3-ranked Southern Indiana.
         On Thursday, SIUE shot a steady 54 percent from the field. The Cougars forced 18 KWC turnovers and yielded 24 points off those miscues. SIUE, meanwhile, committed just nine turnovers.
         Ty Johnson recorded his ninth consecutive game of double-digit scoring with 16 points while adding a game-high seven assists. Mike Hardiek also scored 16 points for the Cougars.
         Ryan Belcher scored 12 for SIUE, and Justin Ward came off the bench for 11 points.
         SIUE took control midway through the first half and pulled away for a 41-28 by halftime. The Cougars led by as much as 21 points late in the second half.
         Kentucky Wesleyan's Jeremish Coleman led all scorers with 18 points. Dewayne Rogers added 11 for the Panthers.
        
         -siue cougars-