How could the Billikens follow up a 90-54 bludgeoning of East Carolina? How about beating the University of California Bears senseless, 88-66.

The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team won their second straight game last night as they defeated the California Golden Bears at the Savvis Center.

“It [the victory] is sweet tonight, but it’s back to work tomorrow,” said coach Lorenzo Romar.

The Billikens went to work on the Bears right from the tip as they kept California scoreless through the first six minutes of the contest. Cal rallied to close the gap to a single point, but the Billikens bounced back with a 10-2 run of their own over the next four minutes.

Just as SLU seemed to be in control, the Bears rallied again and closed the gap, 21-18. Both teams traded baskets to end the half. Sophomore Marquee Perry, senior Maurice Jeffers and senior Chris Heinrich scored the last 14 points for the Billikens as they took a 39-31 lead into the locker room.

“I was really impressed. I thought Saint Louis really played solid,” said Cal coach Ben Braun.

Perry opened the second half with two quick free throws, extending the Billiken lead to 10, 41-31. He drew three quick fouls on the Bears in the first three minutes of the half, helping to put the Billikens in the bonus early.

As the teams battled, the Bears continued to cut into the Billiken lead. Coming as close as four, Cal couldn’t quite get past the Bills.

With deadly shooting from Drew Diener behind the arc and great penetration by Perry, SLU went on a 14-4 run.

The Billikens stepped up on defense and held the Bears without a field goal for the last six minutes of the game.

“We thrive on defense,” said Jeffers. “We came back on defense and shut them down some more.”

SLU’s defense was on point as they forced Cal into 18 turnovers. The Billiken defense allowed the Bears only five assists the entire game.

“If their point guard can’t get the ball to key players, they can’t score,” Perry said.

Not to be left out, the Billiken offense continued to roll along as they posted another double-figure victory. SLU has averaged 89 points over the past two games.

“We share the ball a lot,” said senior Justin Tatum. “Last year we had one scorer, now we have four or five guys in double-figures.”

The Billikens exploited the Bears double teaming of post players by finding the open man.

“Our big guys are doing a good job of getting the ball out,” Romar said.

Sophomore Chris Braun was outstanding off the bench. In the 19 minutes he played, Braun put up 10 points as he was five for five from the field with three rebounds and two steals.

Jeffers led the team with 18 points and grabbed three boards and swatted two shots as he shot seven of 11 from the field and two of three from behind the three point line.

Tatum turned in a great performance as he posted 12 points, three blocks, five rebounds and two assists. He also went four of five from the free throw stripe.

“Justin was big. When he’s focused, he’s tough to reckon with,” Romar said.

Continuing to show his worth, Perry turned in another solid performance with 17 points, four assists and three rebounds.

“Perry did a phenomenal job,” Romar said. “He has a lot of pride. If you ask him to do something, he’ll do it.”

Perry also put on a defensive clinic as he and the rest of the Billikens denied the Bears from getting into their offense.

“We just never got going,” Ben Braun said. “Whenever we made a mistake, Saint Louis capitalized. They took advantage when we broke down.”

Romar was quick to give credit for the defense to his assistant, Randy Bennet.

“Randy Bennet is our Buddy Ryan,” Romar said. “He works with our defense every day.”

The Billikens allowed Bears’ superstar Sean Lampley to score 22 but forced him into turning the ball over five times.

“Our guys did a decent job on Lampley,” Romar said. “Our defense has been pretty consistent.”

The Billikens continue their homestand with Idaho this Saturday at the Savvis Center at 1:10 p.m.

The Idaho Vandals are 1-2 on the year. They are led by junior Matt Gerschefske with 12 points a game. Another player to watch is junior Eric Collier. Collier has posted seven points and leads the team with five rebounds per game.