Turnovers hurt SIUE in loss to Belmont

Four Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars scored in double figures, but Belmont spoiled their Ohio Valley Conference home opener 76-61 on Thursday at the Vadalabene Center.

Belmont improved to 12-6 overall and 4-1 in the OVC. The Cougars dropped to 6-10 overall and 2-3 in the conference. The loss snapped SIUE's two-game win streak.

"That's a good team," SIUE head coach Jon Harris said of the Bruins. "Belmont is very good at what they do and very sound. They don't beat themselves and are very underrated defensively."

Amanze Egekeze poured in 29 points — three shy of his season best — to spur the Bruins.

Daniel Kinchen led the Cougars with 14 points and Brandon Jackson recorded 12 points. Starters Jalen Henry (11 points), Justin Benton (10 points) and Christian Ellis (eight rebounds, seven points and three assists) also contributed to the cause.

"We've had that kind of balanced scoring this season," Harris said, "but we had 15 turnovers and that's way too many of them."

Belmont shot ahead 10-2 just four minutes into the game. The Bruins owned a 41-29 advantage at the break.

"Belmont can expose your weaknesses, though it's a great opportunity to show the guys how they can get better and grow," Harris said. "We did some good things on the offensive end, but we have to be mentally sharper."

The Cougars made 22 of 53 shots, including 6 of 16 from 3-point range. Belmont sank 25 of 53 shots, making 10 of 28 from beyond the arc. The Bruins also outrebounded the Cougars 34-29.

SIUE resumes its four-game home swing Saturday when the Cougars welcome Tennessee State at 7 p.m. Then it's Southeast Missouri (7 p.m. on Jan. 18) and UT Martin (1 p.m. on Jan. 20) coming to the Vadalabene Center.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Turnovers hurt SIUE in loss to Belmont."