SIU Edwardsville holds off Florida Atlantic, 77-68

Nov 13, 2016, 09:52 pm

HONOLULU -- Carlos Anderson and Jalen Henry combined to score 29 points and SIU Edwardsville won its second straight game in the Rainbow Classic, knocking off Florida Atlantic, 77-68 on Sunday.

The Cougars opened the tournament by edging host Hawaii, 69-68. Florida Atlantic lost its second straight, falling to Texas State in its opener, 61-57.

Christian Ellis knocked down a jumper to put SIU Edwardsville in the lead, 9-7 five minutes into the contest and the Cougars turned it into a 13-2 run. The Owls battled back and cut the lead to one, 26-25, on Gerdarius Troutman's 3-pointer with 6:12 left in the half, but the Cougars surged to take a 40-33 lead at intermission.

Anderson finished with 15 points for the Cougars and Henry added another 14 while Keenan Simmons added 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Nick Rutherford led Florida Atlantic with 14 points and Ronald Delph added another 13.