vs. Jacksonville State Gamecocks (7-11, 2-3 OVC)
Sat., Jan. 18, 3:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
SIUE made a bid to overturn a double-digit deficit in the second half Thursday, but the Golden Eagles fought off the Cougars 72-69 at the First Community Arena. The Cougars knotted things at 69-69 on Tyresse Willford's layup with 1:11 to play. However, the Golden Eagles scored the final three points on Tujante Williams' basket and Junior Clay's free throw in the closing 52 seconds.
CLOSE SHAVE
Since defeating Belmont Jan. 2, SIUE has dropped four consecutive OVC games by an average of just over five points per game. The largest loss is seven points at Morehead State.
BARONE DEBUTS
Head Coach Brian Barone takes over at the top after two seasons as the Cougars' top assistant. He has previous Division I stops at Green Bay, Indiana, Marquette and Illinois State. He also brings junior college experience as a head coach and assistant.
BARONE'S PEDIGREE
Brian's father is the late Tony Barone, Sr., who played at Duke before beginning his coaching career. After stops at Duke and Bradley as an assistant, Tony was the head coach at Creighton (1985-91) and Texas A&M (1991-1998). He also coached the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies during the 2006-07 season.
BARONE SIGNED THROUGH 2024
On November 13, SIUE Director of Athletics Tim Hall announced an extension of Head Coach Brian Barone's contract through the 2023-2024 season.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Unofficially, Barone is one of nine current Division I head coaches whose father also was a Division I head coach. The List:
Tony Bennett, Virginia (Dick Bennett)
Jeff Capel III, Pittsburgh (Jeff Capel II)
Kermit Davis, Jr., Mississippi (Kermit Davis, Sr.)
Scott Drew, Baylor (Homer Drew)
Mark Prosser, Western Carolina (Skip Prosser)
Richard Pitino, Minnesota (Rick Pitino)
Jay Spoonhour, Eastern Illinois (Charlie Spoonhour)
Kevin Willard, Seton Hall (Ralph Willard)
FAMILY MATTERS
SIUE freshmen Lamar and
Shamar Wright are the sons of former NBA player, the late Lorenzen Wright. Their older brother, Lorenzen, Jr. played at UT Martin during the 2017-18 season.
OH BROTHER
Lamar and Shamar are one of 16 sets of brothers nationally who are playing on the same Division I team this season. The twins join brothers playing at Boston College, The Citadel, Coppin State, Eastern Washington, Iowa, Maryland, Mount St. Mary's, Navy, Northwestern State, Oklahoma State, Ohio, Ohio State, Pepperdine, Robert Morris and Vermont.
CONFERENCE CALL
