SIUE Cougars (7-17, 1-10 OVC) vs. UT Martin Skyhawks (8-16, 4-8 OVC)

Thursday, February 10, 7:00 p.m.
First Community Arena (4,000)
Edwardsville, Illinois

LAST TIME
SIUE men's basketball suffered a 76-47 loss to Southeast Missouri State Monday at First Community Arena. The Cougars held the lead through the opening 10 minutes, leading by as many as six at the 12:50 mark, before the Redhawks stormed back to take a one-point advantage at the 9:06 mark. The two squads would trade buckets and points, but an 8-0 scoring run gave SEMO a 10-point lead. SEMO continued its momentum into the final minutes of the first period, using a 19-5 scoring run for a 40-24 lead at halftime.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 11th Ohio Valley Conference season. The Cougars are 54-126 in OVC play. Head Coach Brian Barone has a 13-34 record in OVC play. 

LAST MEETING
SIUE dropped a 76-70 decision at UT Martin Jan. 24. Both teams struggled to find their shots early in the game. The Cougars held a 17-14 lead at 8:04 in the first half after a baseline jumper from Jonathan Kurtas. UT Martin went ahead on four consecutive free throws and extended the lead on a three to cap a 7-0 run. The Skyhawks made it a 9-1 push before SIUE scored its next field goal. UT Martin finished the half on a 20-5 run to lead 34-22 at the break.After shooting just 22 percent from the field in the first, SIUE connected on 52 percent of its field goal attempts after halftime, but the game was decided on the free throw line, where the Cougars missed 11 shots (13-24). They were 11-20 from the stripe in the second half.

TAYLOR TO MISS REMAINDER OF SEASON
Freshman guard Ray'Sean Taylor will miss the remainder of the 2022 season after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Taylor sustained the injury in the second half of SIUE's game at Southeast Missouri on January 22, undergoing immediate testing and a subsequent MRI which revealed the ligament tear. Taylor sat out the 2020-21 season with the same injury, which he sustained in August 2020. Taylor led SIUE in scoring 14 times, scored in double figures in 19 of 21 games, and scored 20 or more points in a game nine times. He remains the leading scorer among first-year players in the country at 17.6 points per game. Taylor won the OVC Freshman of the Week award five times this season.