Recap: SIU Edwardsville vs. Western Ill

Edwardsville, IL (Sports Network) - Jerome Jones scored 26 points and pulled down six rebounds to push the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars to a 62-50 victory over the Western Illinois Leathernecks at the Vadalabene Center.

Mark Yelovich contributed 13 points, three steals, and two blocks to help SIUE (1-1) notch its first win of the season. The Cougars now have a .500 record two games into the season due to their loss at Missouri in the opener.

Terell Parks paced Western Illinois (1-1) with 18 points and eight boards. Ceola Clark went 3-of-6 from distance and 6-of-7 at the charity stripe to net 15 points.

Although both sides shot 48 percent from the field in the first half, the Cougars took a narrow 31-28 lead into the intermission by forcing the visitors into nine first half turnovers. WIU stayed close by collecting five more rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

SIUE opened up the second half with a 9-0 run and never looked back. The Leathernecks let the game slip away by converting only 28.6 percent of their field goal attempts after the break.

WIU struggled offensively as it made only 16-of-39 field goal attempts and turned the ball over 18 times. The Cougars had only nine turnovers and shot 50 percent from beyond the arc.