MARTIN, Tenn. – SIUE men's basketball never trailed on its way to a 76-60 road thumping of UT Martin Saturday at the Elam Center.

The Cougars improved to 6-6 overall and 4-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

SIUE has won three of its last five, all coming on the road, where the five overall wins have already equaled the program high for road wins in the Division I era.

"It's fun coming on the road and winning three out of five coming out of our 'little vacation' we took," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said.

Shamar Wright's three-point basket at the first-half buzzer gave SIUE its largest lead at the time at 35-24.

"We came out of halftime, and it was an 11-point game and we extended it to 16 by the first media," Barone continued. "UT Martin chipped away but we kept our heads."

SIUE pushed the lead to more than 20 three separate times in the second half. Iziah James served up an alley-oop to Sidney Wilson on a fast break with 4:04 to play to give SIUE its largest lead at 69-47.

It was one of five assists for James, which tied a career high. He added five points and two rebounds. Wilson scored 18 points added four rebounds and three assists. Mike Adewunmi led the Cougars with 20 points. He pitched in seven rebounds and two assists. It is the fifth career 20-point game for Adewunmi and his third this season.

"Sidney Wilson did a good job in the second half and Mike Adewunmi's energy was phenomenal," Barone said. "With Carlos hurting today and Cam going out in the first half Iziah James did a great job stepping up for us. I was proud of his attitude and his effort today."

SIUE connected on 52 percent (26-50) of its shots, marking the sixth time this year it has shot better than 50 percent in a game. The Cougars collected a season-high 20 assists and outrebounded UT Martin 37-36. The Cougars also recorded 10 blocks, one shy of the school record which they equaled earlier this year.

"At the beginning of the day today we talked about relying upon what we do well," Barone said. "Having 20 assists, 10 blocks, that is having your teammates' back. That is falling back on what we do for one another."

Shamar Wright paced the Cougars on the boards, grabbing a career-high nine rebounds. He added seven points, two blocks and a steal.

"He has a demeanor about himself the last 4-5 games," Barone said of Shamar Wright. "You can see it. He is going to the next play. He is focused on doing right."

Lamar Wright finished with six points and four rebounds, while tying his career high with five blocked shots.

Anthony Thomas' 24 points led UT Martin, which dropped to 5-10 overall and 3-8 in the OVC.

The Cougars return to First Community Arena, where they have played only once this season. SIUE plays host to Austin Peay Monday afternoon in the first of four games during the week.

"It is going to test us as people," Barone said. "It is going to test our family. But we get to play basketball four times next week.

The Cougars will play nine games over the first 15 days of the month.

"We're going to have to figure it out," Barone continued. "We'll have to find a way to scout and take some time off. There's going to be ups and downs, but let's go have some fun."