SIUE Cougars (3-6, 0-0 OVC)
vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (4-4, 1-1 Horizon)

Wednesday, December 8, 7:00 p.m.
First Community Arena (4,000)
Edwardsville, Illinois

LAST TIME
A seven-minute stretch at the end of the first half proved to be the difference Saturday as SIUE fell to Bradley 80-55 at Carver Arena. The game was close to start, with both teams taking modest leads. SIUE led by as many as five at 16-11 with 11:33 to play. What had been a tight game for the first 13 minutes, changed near the 7:00 minute mark in the first half. Shaun Doss, Jr. knocked down a pair of free throws to draw SIUE within a point at 23-22. From there, Bradley went on a 16-0 run and finished the half on a 22-4 run to lead 45-26 at the break. The Cougars didn't hit a field goal for the final 7:19 of the period, scoring six points all at the free throw line.

SHARP SHOOTERS
SIUE hit 47 percent of its shots at Omaha and has hit at least 45 percent of its shots in five games this year. The St. Thomas game being was the Cougars' best at 50 percent. Last year, the team's season-best was 58 percent against Tennessee Tech and SIUE shot at least 50 percent in a game eight different times. 

ROAD WARRIORS
This is only SIUE's second home game of the year. The Cougars played eight of their first nine games away from Edwardsville. With six road wins in 2020-21, SIUE set a new mark for road wins in a season in the Division I era. 

TAYLOR'S HOT START CONTINUES
Ray'Sean Taylor picked up his second OVC Freshman of the Week Award Monday. He recorded his third 20-point game of the year with 22 points at Bradley Saturday. He is fourth in the OVC in scoring at 17.0 points per game, which is eighth in the country among freshman. Taylor is returning after missing last season with a torn right ACL. He is the all-time leading scorer at Collinsville High School with more than 2,100 points. He posted a 53-point game against Trinity (St. Louis) during his senior year.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE
Taylor has twice gotten withing striking distance of a triple-double. At Creighton, he finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. At Omaha he scored 13 points, pulled in nine rebounds and dished out a career-best 12 assists. SIUE has never had a player with a triple-double.