Cougars end losing streak at home

Keli Keener
Sports Stringer

The men's basketball team is the proud owner of a two-game winning streak.

The Cougars savored victory at last when they overcame two Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals, Quincy University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Junior forward Marty Perry recorded a team-high 22 points and seven rebounds as SIUE slipped past Quincy University 77-73 Thursday.

Four more Cougars finished the game in double figures alongside Perry. Garrett Thomas scored 16 points while Nick Hartwig and Ben Garwitz each contributed 11. Luke Humphrey came off the bench to score 10 points in 27 minutes played.

"Luke really stepped up in the second half," head coach Jack Margenthaler said. "He played aggressive, took the ball to the hole and made free throws. He really did a great job."

Joel Peterson scored a team-high 15 points for Quincy coming off the bench. Jamal Thompson added 14 points while Kareem Jabbar Cain added 12. Brian McNeil finished the game with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.

The Cougars came back out to play the second half with a four-point lead. They continued to lead by four with eight seconds left in regulation when Thompson was fouled on a three-point attempt. He converted on all three free throws to pull the Hawks within one, 74-73.

SIUE reciprocated soon thereafter by making three free throws in the last four seconds to seal the deal.

Both teams shot well from the free-throw line, the Cougars had 76.5 percent and the Hawks totaled 68.8 percent. Both teams remained close in field goal percentage, SIUE 45.2 percent and Quincy 47.3 percent.

Although it was only the Cougars' second conference win of the season, it did not lessen the effects of the triumph in any way. With the win, the Cougars snapped a 10-game losing streak. Their last taste of victory was Dec. 28 against nonconference opponent Oakland City.

The Cougars split the two-game series with the Hawks this season with Quincy winning the first round 85-79 on its home court.

With this loss in the second meeting, Quincy falls to 9-11 overall and 5-9 in the GLVC.

The Cougars picked up their second win of the week Saturday, marking the team's first back-to-back victories of the season as it downed UMSL 64-62 in front of a home crowd once again.

SIUE, now 6-15 overall and 3-12 in the GLVC, was immensely aided by Perry's 17 points. He scored 16 of those in the first half. Humphrey added 13 points off the bench and senior Nick Hartwig added 11.

"Marty had a great first half," Margenthaler said. "You have to give UMSL credit. In the second half they really put the defense on and they really got on him. They denied him the ball as much as they could."

Perry was held to just a single free throw in the second half.

"Marty kept us in the basketball game and got us a nice lead at halftime," Margenthaler said. "I really think he was the difference between us winning or losing."

The Cougars went into the halftime break with a 12-point lead 37-25 only to see it chipped away by the Hawks when play resumed.

Jim Schelich led the charge for the Rivermen with 21 points. Anthony Love had 13 while Greg Ross added 10.

The Cougars held on at the end as Garwitz topped SIUE off with a pair of free throws with eight seconds left on the clock to give his team a 64-60 lead.

UMSL's Michael Hamilton quickly answered with a layup with only three seconds remaining.

Anthony Love made a prompt steal on the inbounds pass but could not convert on a last-second three-point attempt, enabling the Cougars to split their series with the Rivermen this season.

"The win Thursday sparked a fire," Perry said in a recent interview for The (Alton) Telegraph. "The game with UMSL was a continuation of what we did against Quincy. These two wins are a great pick-me-up for this team.

"Everybody is playing their hearts out and working so hard," Perry said. "Nobody is leaving anything on the floor."

SIUE outrebounded UMSL 32-31, while shooting 51.1 percent from the field to 40 percent by the Rivermen. UMSL shot 68.4 percent from the foul line to SIUE's 52.9 percent. UMSL moves to 10-11 overall and 6-9 in the GLVC with the loss.

"The team feels better about themselves and what they can do," Margenthaler said. "Two big wins in this Great Lakes conference is great for this basketball team. I think this win (against UMSL) was bigger than our win on Thursday night."

The Cougars must now look ahead to an immense challenge with the University of Southern Indiana at home Tuesday. Southern Indiana enters the week with a 20-1 record overall and a No. 2 ranking in the nation.

"Now we really have got our hands full with the No. 2 team in the country on Tuesday," Margenthaler said. "I don't think our kids will back off. It will be interesting to see just how we come out and compete."