To decipher Saint Louis University’s 70-52 trouncing of
University of South Florida (6-7, 0-2 Conference-USA) last
Saturday, look no further than the line on senior guard, Josh
Fisher.

With 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists Fisher came just
about as close as one could at nabbing the ever-elusive
triple-double. Complement that with a grand total of zero turnovers
and you have yourself a pretty complete game.

“I guess the ball was just coming my way,” said Fisher, humbly
commenting on his performance. “We were taking open shots and
everyone was knocking them down. We took care of the ball and
played well defensively. It gives us more confidence.”

The victory came as the Bills’ sixth in their past seven
contests and third win in Conference-USA play.

Overall, coach Brad Soderberg found himself very pleased with
his team’s effort.

“That was a very satisfying win. We played efficient on
the offensive side and were stingy defensively,” Soderberg
said.

Further commenting on Fisher’s performance, Soderberg added, “I
haven’t given him enough credit. He’s something special and a great
player. When he’s hitting threes, he’s really a handful for our
opponents.”

Fisher accommodated against USF by hitting two three pointers
and, on the season, trailing only Reggie Bryant for the team lead
in threes.

From the first score onward, SLU never lost control of the game.
The Bulls tried to keep it close for the first ten minutes of the
opening half, but the Bills were quickly able to pull away.

They led by as many as 12 in the first half after Fisher and
Sloan hit three pointers in back to back possessions followed by
Reggie Bryant knocking down yet another trey just moments later,
accounting for his only points of the half.

Junior center Tom Frericks continued to establish himself as a
force in low post as he made his presence felt early on by taking
it to shot-blocking specialist Gerrick Morris to score the game’s
first bucket. Frericks went on to score seven points in the first
half through only eight minutes of play as he was forced to sit due
to foul trouble, which has limited his minutes for much of the
season.

The Bills eventually brought a 34-26 lead into the locker room,
which would only be built upon.

In the second half, SLU upped the defensive pressure and
continued to move the ball around well on the offensive
side–finishing with a team total of 18 assists in the game.

After a quiet first half, Bryant, the Bills leading scorer this
season, poured in 14 points in the second. Three other SLU players
hit double digits in scoring, including Chris Sloan, Frericks, who
finished with 11, and Fisher.

Sloan led all scorers with 18 points. He managed to do so while
collecting only one rebound, a feat accomplished by hitting seven
of 10 from the field, highlighted by perfect first half
shooting–knocking down six of six.

The Bills will face the East Carolina University Pirates at the
Savvis Center on Saturday in an attempt to move to a perfect 3-0
during their current home stand. Still, in spite of their success
this season, Soderberg expressed some remorse in their weaker
scheduling.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that Soderberg
regrets his decision to face some of their softer early season
opponents, who are currently “anchoring” their RPI.

The Bills now stand at No. 90 overall in the RPI standings,
which is a significant increase from several weeks ago.

After the contest versus ECU, SLU then moves on to a critical
three-game road stretch that will put them up against conference
foes Charlotte, University of Alabama-Birmingham and Memphis–all
three of which possess records with wins already in the
double-digits and are usually formidable on their home courts. As
well, both UAB and Charlotte currently share the same conference
record as SLU.

The Bills now stand with a 10-5 record and 3-1 in conference
play, putting them in a three-way tie at third in early C-USA
standings, just behind nationally ranked Cincinnati and
Louisville–who faced each other last night, ending in a 93-66
trouncing in favor of Louisville.

Now, with Marquette dropping in the standings quickly after the
loss of All-American candidate Travis Diener to injury, SLU looks
to hold their ground atop the conference and compete for another
first round bye in the C-USA tournament.