Morehead St. Downs SIUE, Baylor Returns To Play

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Published on February 23 2021 6:08 am
Last Updated on February 23 2021 6:15 am

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Morehead State erased a six-point second half deficit and scored a 56-48 come-from-behind win over SIUE Monday at First Community Arena.

SIUE fell to 8-15 overall and 6-11 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars have lost five straight. Morehead State has won 14 of its last 15 games and improved to 18-7 overall and 15-3 in OVC play.

SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said he wasn't surprised by the effort of his team against one of the OVC's top contenders.

"That's to be expected with the heart that this team has," Barone said. "Unfortunately, we scored four points and they scored 16 points at the end of the game."

After trailing by five (29-24) at halftime, SIUE worked back into the lead thanks to a 7-0 capped off by  Courtney Carter three-pointer which made it 35-33 Cougars. SIUE stretched the run to 12-1 and had its largest lead of the game at 38-34 on a Desmond Polk running layup with 10:25 to play.

SIUE led 44-40 with 7:15 to play before Morehead State came to life and finished the game on the 16-4 run.

"We had some careless turnovers and we got away from what was being effective which was working the ball and keeping it simple," Barone said.

Shamar Wright led SIUE with 12 points. Courtney Carter scored 11 and added four rebounds and three assists. Iziah James scored seven points while pacing SIUE with a career-best eight rebounds.

"It's always expected that our program will have fight with the right kind of guys," Barone said.

Johni Broome and Skyelar Potter each turned in double-doubles for the Eagles. Broome scored 23 points while grabbing 13 rebounds. Potter finished with 14 and 12.

SIUE continues its final home stand of the regular season with visits from UT Martin and Southeast Missouri. The Cougars remain in the race for one of eight spots in the OVC Tournament.

"I am not going to hide from the fact that we are in important games this time of year," Barone said. "We want to win. Our guys in the locker room have not broken. Those guys are mentally strong and it means something to them. We're going to accept the challenge and go forward."

Baylor Returns To Play

Number 2 Baylor, which is still undefeated for the season, is returning to play Tuesday after a three-week pause due to coronavirus issues in the men’s basketball program.