In Minnesota, there must be lumps of kryptonite lying all over the place, or at least outside the basketball facilities, since Minnesota managed to hold Superman to an uncharacteristically low six points last night.
“I really wanted to do well, especially for my teammates, I wanted everyone to go out with a nice bang. I wanted the juniors, the sophomores and the freshmen to look forward to something next year, and we just fell short. I apologize if I didn’t come with my A-game,” said senior guard Marque Perry.
Last night, the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team was completely shut down against the NBA-sized Minnesota Gophers in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament in a 58-52 letdown, which ended their season. The loss came after a similar lackluster showing in a 63-62 last-second loss to UAB last Friday night in Louisville in the semi-finals of the Conference USA Tournament.
Minnesota grabbed an early 11-point advantage and controlled the entire game, holding at least a four-point lead throughout the entire uphill battle between the Billikens and Minnesota’s giant Gophers.
Four minutes into the second half, the Billiken bench was issued a technical foul after protesting several calls throughout the game.
The period did not pass without a few brief glimmers of hope for rallies midway through the game, but any bright spots in the Bills’ game were quickly darkened by Minnesota.
Anthony Drejaj had a chance to ignite a comeback, when he hit a pair of back-to-back threes less than a minute apart. Minnesota’s Rick Ricket answered by calmly hitting a pair of free throws less than a minute after Drejaj’s spectacle. Ohanon tried to build on Drejaj’s start with a dunk to bring the Gophers’ lead down to nine points, but Minnesota’s Michael Bauer jammed a dunk of his own seconds later.
“We dug ourselves into a big hole in the first half and [Minnesota] is too good of a team for us to come back in the second half,” Perry said. “I give credit to our guys for fighting back in the second half and picking up my slack. I was struggling today, and everyone really stepped up and did a good job.”
SLU’s final bright spot of the night came from Chris Sloan, who led the Bills with 13 points and nine rebounds. Perry scrambled to pick up a loose ball on defense and managed to scoop up the ball and throw it ahead to Sloan, who capped off a solo run down the court with a dunk to bring the Billikens within four points.
However, the Billikens could not get much closer to the lead and ended the game and the season with a 58-52 disappointment.
Drejaj finished just behind Sloan with 12 points and went four-of-six from three-point land. Kenny Brown, who struggled at the free throw line, added 11 points. Fisher was held to just a single basket and a free throw, and in an uncharacteristic showing, Drew Diener fouled out of the game scoreless.
“I think Drejaj and Sloan have really stepped forward as guys that I’m going to lean on next year to help the team,” Soderberg said. “They play with real fire and that makes up for other areas where they might be lacking.”
Maurice Hargow effectively silenced Perry, who managed only a single bucket in the first half and a pair of made shots in the second. Hargow’s tenacity in guarding Perry was near flawless, as Perry had a limited number of open looks on the basket and did not get sent to the foul line once, a place where his late game heroics have often bailed the Bills out of narrow games.
Last week in the C-USA Tournament, UAB surprised the entire league the night before by knocking out one of the favorites of the tournament, Marquette. The Billikens did not face UAB during the regular season this year and were forced to rely on tapes and the previous night’s game to gauge the Blazers.
The Billikens managed to mount an attempted comeback from a 34-18 deficit in the second half. UAB began to falter and was plagued by a string of missed shots, which SLU took advantage of by making an 8-0 run, led by Drejaj.
The short-lived run brought the Billikens within 14, but wasn’t enough to pose a serious threat.
Late in the period, SLU posed a serious threat at a comeback with a string of jumpers and driving shots made by Fisher and Perry. With just over one minute remaining, the Billikens managed to overcome a 22-point deficit and tie the game at 61 points apiece when Perry, true to his late-game clutch performances, made good on a three-point play.
After a vehemently debated call against the Billikens in the final ticks of the game, SLU gained possession after UAB’s Eric Bush missed a jumper and Sloan grabbed the rebound and drew a foul, sending him to the line with a chance to take the lead.
Sloan made one of his two charity tosses to give the Bills control for the first time of the night with a 62-61 lead, but Bush answered back and put UAB ahead for good.
