Jan. 21, 2010

Box Score

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - LeShaun Murphy and Nikola Bundalo posted season highs Thursday as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville topped Robert Morris (Springfield) 92-71 at the Vadalabene Center.

SIUE recorded season highs all around, including 39 field goals and 40 rebounds. The Cougars improved to 3-16 and now look toward next Monday's matchup at UT Martin. Game time is 7 p.m. in Martin, Tenn. The game can be heard on 590 The Fan KFNS and WSIE FM 88.7 with Joe Pott on the call.

"It was a good win for our players. I'm happy for them," said SIUE Coach Lennox Forrester.

The Cougars shot 52 percent from the field against the Eagles. Murphy, who had two crowd-pleasing dunks, and Bundalo led SIUE with 16 points each. Aamir McCleary added 13 points.

"He did a good job of getting us off to start and so did Zeke (Schneider) when he got in there," said Forrester. Schneider was a perfect 3 for 3 from the floor.

Offense was spread out to the end of the Cougar bench. Every player saw at least three minutes on the floor and 12 different players scored for the Cougars. The SIUE bench provided 37 points, including a career high six points from both Dane Church and Schneider.

SIUE pounded the ball into the paint with 56 points coming inside. The Cougars also took advantage of 12 offensive rebounds for 17 second-chance points.

It was a welcome win for SIUE, which snapped a 10-game losing skid. The Cougars took care of the basketball with a season-low eight turnovers.

Robert Morris finished with four players in double figures led by 24 from Dee Purnell. The Eagles recorded nine three-pointers and shot 47.2 percent from the field.

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