COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Arnas Sakenis became SIUE men's basketball's all-time leader in blocked shots, but it came in a losing cause as SIUE dropped a 62-52 decision at Tennessee Tech Thursday.
The Cougars slipped to 10-7 in OVC play and 17-11 overall. Tennessee Tech improved to 12-16 overall and 7-10 in the league. The Cougars had won five straight against the Golden Eagles.
Sakenis' record-breaking 148th block of his career was his third of the game. It came with late in the game when he blocked a driving layup by Mekhi Cameron. The senior surpassed Doug Taylor whol recorded 147 blocks from 2004-2008. Sakenis finished with four blocks to go along four rebounds and one point.
Darrion Baker led SIUE with 13 points. Kyle Thomas finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Tyler King scored nine points and Jack Campion scored seven points and added five assists.
The Cougars trailed 6-4 early before scoring the next 10 straight points. A Kyle Thomas tip-in gave SIUE a 14-6 lead and forced a Tennessee Tech timeout with 12:59 to play in the first half.
The Golden Eagles fought back and had a 19-18 lead after two free throws from Dani Pounds with 6:01 to play before half.
King sent the Cougars to the locker room with a 28-26 advantage after a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Another three by King had the Cougars lead at 36-34 with 16:11 left when Tennessee Tech went on a 7-0 run and SIUE never led again.
After the Golden Eagles missed their first 16 three-point attempts in the game, Grant Slatten hit Tech's first three to extend the lead to 10 (52-42) with 7:08 left. Brandon Muntu then connected on a three on the next possession to push the lead to 55-42.
The Cougars twice cut the lead back to seven but got no closer.
SIUE shot just 35 percent (23-66) from the field and was 3-23 (13 percent) from three-point range.
The Golden Eagles were led by JaJuan Nicholls' double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds. Tennessee Tech outrebounded SIUE 47-35.
TTU also was 18-21 from the free throw line while SIUE was just 3-6.
The Cougars remain in the road to play at Tennessee State Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. The game will air national on ESPNU.
