The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team was handed its
first loss of the 2003-2004 Season on Wednesday night, falling
66-57 to the West Virginia University Mountaineers at the
Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W. Va.
With the loss, the Billikens fell to 3-1. The Mountaineers
improved to 2-1 with their win.
The Billikens struggled offensively in the first half, shooting
26 percent from the field, while the Mountaineers shot 57
percent.
West Virginia added a few baskets while the shotclock was
running down, as the Billikens missed three lay-ups in addition to
three free throws in the half. WVU took 27-19 into the locker room
at halftime.
For the game, Senior Josh Fisher converted 6-6 of his free
throws; yet, the rest of the Billikens shot only 2-8 from the
stripe with several misses coming down the stretch.
The Mountaineers started their second half by stretching their
lead quickly adding up to a 14-point spread.
SLU sophomore Anthony Drejaj answered by initiating a comeback,
leading the Billikens on a 15-3 run. His three-point shooting and
close scoring helped cut the Mountaineers lead to two points.
After freshman forward Justin Johnson missed a pair of free
throws, which would have tied the game, WVU sophomore forward Kevin
Pittsnogle widened the gap to four by making a pair from the
charity stripe.
After an empty offensive trip by the Billikens, Mountaineers
freshman guard Tyler Relph drilled a shot from a few feet behind
the three-point arc to give the Mountaineers a seven-point lead.
After Relph’s three-pointer, the Billikens were unable to reduce
the deficit below seven points.
Drejaj led the Billikens in scoring with 16 points. Junior guard
Reggie Bryant, who made his much-anticipated Billikens debut in
this game, added 12 points in the loss.
For the Mountaineers, Drew Schifino led all scorers with 18
points. D’or Fischer, a 6-feet-11-inch center, came off the bench
to score 12 points and block three shots.
3-0 with a 75-42 win over the North Carolina A&T Aggies
Saturday at the Savvis Center.
Fisher led the Billikens with 18 points, and senior forward
Chris Sloan added 14.
After jumping out to a 15-4 lead, the Aggies stayed within 10
points for most of the first half.
The lead was extended late in the half when senior forward Ross
Varner hit a pair of 3-pointers, which made the score 35-19 at
halftime.
The Billikens shot 52 percent in the first half, while the
Aggies shot 41 percent.
SLU pulled away even more early in the second half by going on
an 18-2 run, which erased any doubts about the end result.
The Billikens are in action Saturday against national player of
the year candidate Channing Frye and the 8th ranked powerhouse,
University of Arizona at noon at the Savvis Center.
The Wildcats are 1-1 after losing last Saturday to the number
two Florida Gators by a score of 78-77. Last season, Arizona beat
the Billikens 91-58 at the McKale Center in Tucson.
Seven days later the Bills will travel to Atlanta and face
another ranked opponent in Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets, now
number 15 in the nation, are 6-0 after winning the preseason NIT
and beating Ohio State last night in the ACC — Big 10 Challenge.
Georgia Tech was able to start the ball rolling for this year’s
first round of upsets, knocking off then number one Connecticut
last week in the NIT semifinals.
Downtown Throwdown
Who: University of Arizona Wildcats
When: Saturday, 12 p.m.
Where: Savvis Center
