The Saint Louis University men's basketball team wrapped up their exhibition season with a 77-48 win over the Truman State Bulldogs at the Savvis Center last Saturday. After losing key players such as Josh Fisher and the newly dubbed Director of Basketball Operations, Chris Sloan, to graduation, the Billikens were in need of a spark to rebound for this year.

That spark was provided by three players who are donning the blue and white for the first time this season.

Against Truman, the Billikens were without last year's leading scorer Reggie Bryant. Bryant, a senior, will be looked upon this season to provide leadership and, most importantly, a scoring threat opponents have to plan for every night.

By putting 77 points on the board against the Bulldogs, the Billikens showed that, even without Bryant, their new up-tempo transition offense will provide problems for opposing defenses.

Diminutive freshman point guard Dwayne Polk made his presence felt early, being involved in four of the Billikens' six points.

Polk found fellow newcomer Vas'Shun Newborne with a slick pass that put the Bills up 6-0 to start the game. Polk's quickness wreaked all sorts of havoc for the Bulldog players. Jumping into passing lanes for easy steals, blowing by defenders to get to the basket and, most importantly, breaking the press, Polk's speed and reaction timing were all keys to helping the Billikens get the victory.

The previously mentioned Newborne, a transfer from Chipola Junior College, provided tenacity and hustle underneath for the Bills. In his first season for SLU, it appears as though Newborne's penchant for diving for lose balls and banging hard down low will provide a presence the Bills lacked in previous seasons.

Newborne led all scorers with 14 points and all players with eight rebounds.

Newborne got the scoring started with two free throws and had 10 points in the first half. However, what won't show up in the box score is the hustle after loose balls. Newborne and Polk will be starting for the Billikens this season, and their presence will surely be felt.

With the starting five on the floor, the Bulldogs appeared painfully undermatched against the Billikens. The Billikens started the game on a 20-4 run, after freshman Luke Meyer hit two free throws with 12:59 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs were relentless and used the three-point shooting of Austin Kirby and a bevy of low-post moves from Mike Oppland to finish the half down 46-28.

After Meyer's free throws, the Bulldogs played the Billikens relatively even, losing 26-24.

The second half started inauspiciously with the Bulldogs hitting two back-to-back three pointers following a Newborne putback of a missed three pointer.

Senior center Tom Frericks put up four consecutive points off an Anthony Drejaj assist, and a quick no-look pass through two defenders from Polk.

Polk then had two coast-to-coast lay-ups to put the Billikens up 56-39. Polk's uncanny ability to find the open man was not lost on head coach Brad Soderberg. "I love him…He gets you baskets you can't normally get in a 5-5 set," Soderberg said.

The third newcomer whose impact was evident against the Bulldogs was freshman shooting guard Danny Brown.

Brown was the second man off the bench for the Billikens and made his time count with seven points, two rebounds and a 4-to-1 assist ratio.

Brown, spectacular at times with reverse lay-ups, but always solid, showed Soderberg that he can be counted on during game day.

"He took a giant step in my mind, by taking care of the ball. He is a strong player and can play well in closed quarters," Soderberg said of Brown's performance.

Soderberg was pleased with his team's overall effort, especially defensively. "We're much better than we were last Friday," said Soderberg. "[Saturday] we played with four guards who had little to no college game experience, and we still improved defensively," he told reporters.

"I was concerned to not be playing with Reggie, but I feel it worked out well," he said. As far as Bryant's health is concerned, the coach was uncertain saying he did not know specifically, in medical terms, the condition of Reggie's foot.

However, he knew that in practice this week it did not look good. "In non-medical terms, it looked like one shoe weighed 15 pounds, and the other was normal weight," Soderberg said.

The Billikens will look to get Bryant healthy and use the contributions of their exciting newcomers in the Paradise Jam tournament starting this Friday. The tournament will be held in the Virgin Islands, and the first round pits SLU against Austin Peay on Friday at 4:30 p.m.