EDWARDSVILLE — Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s men’s basketball team opened its regular season Tuesday night, Nov. 4, 2025, with a dominant 119-50 victory over East-West at First Community Arena.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
The Cougars’ 119 points marked the fourth-highest scoring output in program history and the most since a 124-105 win against Southern Indiana in December 1994. Their 69-point margin of victory tied for the third-largest in school history and was the highest since SIUE transitioned to Division I in 2008.
All 13 SIUE players who entered the game scored at least one point and recorded at least one rebound. Leading the way were Ring Malith and Darius Robinson, each with 16 points. Jo Valrie contributed 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while CJ Hall also scored 14. Kyle Thomas added 12 points, and Corentin Efono finished with 11.
"We showed up tonight we felt the community tonight that right there was awesome to be back out there in front of the home crowd. We started off slow but we really came together, " SIUE coach Brian Barone said
After an even 4-4 start, SIUE surged ahead with a 13-point run and closed the first half on a 20-4 run to take a 62-27 lead into halftime. East-West’s Devine Conley made one of two free throws early in the second half before SIUE went on a 15-0 run to extend the lead to 77-28 prior to the first media timeout.
The Cougars out-rebounded East-West 50-23 and scored 60 points in the paint. They forced 29 turnovers that led to 44 points. SIUE shot 59 percent from the field (43 of 73) and converted 24 of 32 free throws (75 percent). SIUE scored 65 points off the bench.
East-West was led by TJ Harris, who scored 15 points and made three of eight three-point attempts. Kee Hargrow added 10 points. The Phantoms shot 36 percent from the field (20 of 55).
SIUE will play its first road game of the season Friday at Texas-San Antonio, with tipoff scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
