Cougars’ Winning Run Comes to a Halt Against UT Martin

MARTIN, Tenn. – UT Martin triumphed over a 14-point deficit in the first half, while SIUE nearly replicated the feat in the second half. Ultimately, the Skyhawks prevailed against the Cougars 85-82 on Saturday at the Elam Center, concluding SIUE’s five-game winning streak.

The Cougars stand at 12-7 overall and 5-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference. UT Martin also holds a 5-3 record in the OVC with an overall record of 9-10.

The Cougars executed an early 8-0 rally to establish an 11-3 lead by the first media timeout in the first half. SIUE expanded its advantage to 27-13 following a jumper from Jordan Pickett with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

From that point, UT Martin orchestrated an 18-3 surge to take a 31-30 lead. A three-point shot by Ring Malith leveled the score at 36 just before halftime with 23 seconds to go. In the subsequent play, the Skyhawks secured a three-pointer from Josue Grullon as the buzzer sounded, leading 39-36 at the halftime break.

UT Martin netted the first eight points of the second half to surge ahead 47-36 within just three minutes and later increased the lead to 56-42 at 13:27. It was 59-45 with 12:45 remaining when SIUE began to rally.

The Cougars embarked on a 16-5 run to cut the deficit to three at 64-61 after two free throws from Ray’Sean Taylor with 8:16 left on the clock. They managed to reduce it to 73-72 following a three-pointer by Brian Taylor II with 3:30 remaining.

The Skyhawks established a five-point lead before two more free throws from Ray’Sean Taylor. Valdimer Salaridze converted a pair of foul shots to extend the lead back to five points prior to another three-pointer from Brian Taylor.

SIUE managed to get it back to 82-81 after two free throws from Malith with just seven seconds left, but that would be the closest the Cougars got.

Ray’Sean Taylor led the Cougars with 23 points, shooting 4-8 from the field and 13-14 at the free throw line. Brian Taylor recorded 19 points and was 6-9 from the perimeter. Malith contributed 14 points, shooting 7-8 from the charity stripe. Jordan Pickett added 12 points, finishing with a perfect 5-for-5 shooting performance off the bench.

The Cougars registered 54 percent (23-43) shooting overall, with 12-18 (67 percent) from the field in the second half. SIUE made 12 of 23 (52 percent) attempts from beyond the arc and 24-29 (83 percent) from the free throw line.

UT Martin achieved 28-51 (55 percent) shooting and 12-28 (43 percent) from three-point range. Salaridze topped the scoring for the Skyhawks with 16 points, while Grullon added 14.

SIUE is set to return home for a pair of matches next week at First Community Arena. The Cougars will challenge Southern Indiana on Thursday and Morehead State on Saturday.