SIUE's OVC struggles continue with 72-61 loss to Jacksonville State

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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Tyrik Edwards scored 16 of his career-high 19 points in the second half and Jacksonville State pulled away for a 72-61 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Saturday.

Christian Cunningham added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Jacksonville State (15-11, 7-4 Ohio Valley Conference), which controlled the boards 44-36. Norbertas Giga got his sixth double-double of the season for the Gamecocks with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Jacksonville State pulled away in the second half with a 12-2 run that included three-pointers from Edwards, Malcolm Drumwright and Greg Tucker to make it 46-35 with 10:17 to play.

The Cougars (5-20, 0-11) trimmed the gap to four with Burak Eslik's two free throws, but Jacksonville State responded with an 11-4 run to make it 62-49 and led by double figures the rest of the way.

Eslik finished with 21 points for the Cougars, Josh White had 12 and Christian Ellis 11.