Spring cleaning is months away, but that didn’t stop the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team from sweeping both of their Pacific Coast Conference opponents this season.
The Billikens improved their record to 5-1 after defeating the Washington Huskies in Seattle this past Tuesday, 69-61.
The Billikens came out of the gates slowly, falling behind early 9-4, but went on a 10-0 run sparked by senior Matt Baniak’s trey from the top of the key. The Billikens would not trail the rest of the game.
Baniak was the spark for SLU as he dominated inside in the first half with 11 points. Senior Chris Heinrich also made his presence felt as he collected seven points and six rebounds in the first half.
“Matt Baniak really got us going tonight,” said coach Lorenzo Romar on the KMOX postgame show.
“Our big guys do a good job of leading this team,” Romar said.
In the second half, the Billikens were led by another senior, Maurice Jeffers. The guard/forward continued to play well this season as he posted 18 points for the game, the majority coming in the second half.
Jeffers pulled down six rebounds and shot 10-11 from the free throw line.
“Those guys have done a great job. You’re only as good as your senior leadership and we’ve got a lot of that,” Romar said.
Also starting to play a larger roll is freshman forward Jason Edwin. Edwin only played eight minutes, but had two assists and was critical on the defensive end.
“Jason has come a long way on defense since the beginning of the year,” Romar said. “He’s talented enough to get minutes every game.
Edwin’s defense is what is earning him playing time. “He’s long and covers a lot of ground,” Romar said.
Also continuing to play well was sophomore point guard Marquee Perry. Perry put up nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Billikens helped themselves by shooting 66.7 percent from the free throw line and forcing the Huskies into 18 turnovers. SLU has continued to have at least three players score in double figures since the second game of the season.
“If you can have five guys in double figures, you’re going to be a pretty good team,” Romar said.
Washington didn’t help themselves as they shot under 40 percent from the field and less than 60 percent from the charity stripe.
The Huskies leading scorer Will Perkins fouled out with over eight minutes left to play in the contest.
The victory was bittersweet for Romar. He led the Huskies in assists in 1979 and 1980. He was captain of the squad in his senior season in 1980.
SLU also defeated Idaho, 80-41, this past Saturday. The Billikens had four players in double figures and dominated from the start of the contest as they finished the first half leading 36-12.
The Billikens continued the drubbing, winning the contest 80-41.
“Our guys came out and handled it [the blow out] in a mature way,” Romar said.
Everyone contributed to the Billiken victory. Edwin put up 10 points and senior forward Justin Tatum added another 10.
“We’re all a team; we’re united. We don’t allow our starters to do everything,” said Tatum.
“Everybody off the bench gave a good contribution,” said sophomore forward Chris Braun.
“When you play well you gain confidence from it,” Romar said.
The Billikens will need that confidence heading into the hostile Hearnes Center this Saturday as they take on the University of Missouri Tigers.
“That place is going to be hostile. They’re a good team that is tough, aggressive and talented,” Romar said.
Mizzou is led by sophomore forward Kareem Rush who is averaging 19.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
Junior guard Clarence Gilbert leads the team in assists with 4.8 per game and puts in 12.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest.
The Tigers faced some stiff Conference USA competition last night in the DePaul Blue Demons. Mizzou was victorious 99-84.
