Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's basketball team battled until the end, going toe to toe with Indiana, but the Hoosiers prevailed 57-47 at Assembly Hall on Friday night.
         Both teams came out cold shooting with the Cougars holding the Hoosiers without a field goal until 15:52 left in the first half and only three field goals through the first 11:06 of the game. Indiana then went on a 16-7 run for a 22-13 lead at the break.
         Indiana outscored the Cougars 24-15 to start the second half to lead 46-28 with 7:55 to go. The Cougars used a 17-6 over the next 6:17 to make the score 52-45. With just over a minute to play, Indiana's Robert Vaden hit a three pointer with one second on the shot clock to put Indiana back up 10 and finish off the game.
         "We played hard and I am proud of our guys," said SIUE basketball coach Marty Simmons. "We competed for 40 minutes, and that is what I am the most proud of."
         Center Dan Heimos and forward Tim Bauersachs were the leading scorers for the Cougars, each totaling 12 points. Bauersachs also led the Cougars with eight rebounds. Joel Jaye scored nine and Anthony Jones added five points.
         "I thought their coach did a great job of having them ready to play," said Hoosiers head coach Mike Davis. "This same team outscored Illinois in the second half, so we knew it was going to be tough."
         Indiana's D.J. White led his squad with 12 points, Roderick Wilmont added 11 and Marshall Strickland tallied 10.
         "They are not an easy team to play against," said Simmons. "Coach Davis has done a good job putting that team together."
         The Cougars shot only 31 percent during the first half, but went 11 for 22 from the field in the second half to shoot 42 percent for the game. SIUE was outrebounded 31-25 in the contest, as the Cougars committed 17 turnovers to the Hoosiers' 14.
         The Cougars finished their three-game exhibition season, and will open the regular season on Monday when they host Lincoln Christian College at 7:30 p.m.
                -siue cougars-