MURRAY, Ky.  -  A tough run of form for SIUE men's basketball continued on Saturday evening, as the Murray State Racers took down the Cougars in a 79-59 affair.

The two squads traded buckets through the opening minutes of play before Murray State, which is receiving votes in both major polls, stormed out to a 21-9 lead thanks to a 16-5 MSU run. The Cougars would respond with a quick 7-2 run that cut the Racer lead to six with 7:10 remaining in the opening period. However, Murray State showed why they are regarded as one of the OVC's premier sides with a 20-7 stretch to close out the first half and go into the locker room with the 44-24 advantage.

The first half saw the Cougars shoot 40 percent from the field and seven-of-ten from the charity stripe, while holding Murray State to just 31 percent from beyond the arc. Shamar Wright notched nine points in the opening 20 minutes, going three-of-five from the field and sinking three of his four free throw attempts.

The second half saw DeeJuan Pruitt drain a jumper to start the period before the Racers picked up where they left off, putting together an 11-3 run in just over three-and-a-half minutes that saw the Cougar deficit grow to 28. SIUE and Murray State would trade scores following the run, highlighted by a thunderous dunk from Shaun Doss, Jr. at the 11:47 mark. The Red & White would put together their own run to end the game, outscoring the hosts by a 12-4 margin in the fixture's final 5:36.

Doss led the Cougars with 18 points in the contest, shooting 46.2 percent from the field and hitting all six shots from the free throw line. Pruitt and Shamar Wright each registered nine points on the night, while Jonathan Kurtas recorded a season-high eight points. Kurtas and Lamar Wright both collected a team-best seven rebounds in the game, while Courtney Carter added five.

The Cougars (7-16, 1-9 OVC) will return to the friendly confines of First Community Arena on Monday evening, when SIUE welcomes rival Southeast Missouri. Tip-off from Edwardsville is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available on WSIE 88.7 The Sound. Tickets can be purchased online and fans can use promo code HOME for discounted admission.  Read Full Article