After a season of frustration, a little consolation prize was earned as the Saint Louis University men's basketball team defeated the University of Memphis Tigers 70-61 in their final home game of the 2004-2005 season.
Senior forward Izik Ohanon led all scorers, scoring a career-high 26 points in the win, as he and fellow seniors Reggie Bryant and Tom Frericks were honored before the game, which was their final home game in their SLU careers.
The Billikens got off to a great start, scoring early and often, with their inside duo of Ohanon and sophomore center Ian Vouyoukas. When a freshman guard made a free throw to convert a traditional three-point play with 12:47 left in the half, SLU led 15-2.
Over the next five minutes, the Tigers began to show signs of getting back in the game, and after center Duane Erwin made a lay up with 6:46 to go in the half, the Billikens' lead had been cut to 18-13. Following that lay up, junior forward Vas'shun Newborne hit a three pointer, which started a stretch that saw SLU outscore Memphis 10-2 in a little under four minutes to reclaim a double-digit lead. The Tigers were able to cut SLU's halftime lead to single digits when Anthony Rice made a three pointer with just under a minute left in the half, making the halftime score 28-19 in favor of the Billikens.
The Billikens started the second half in a similar fashion as the first, with Bryant, Vouyoukas and Ohanon scoring the first three baskets of the half, stretching their lead to 34-19, with 16:19 to go in the game.
The lead stayed in double digits most of the rest of the game, with a few instances in which Memphis would get the lead down to eight or nine, only to have it brought back to 10 or more on the next SLU possession.
In the final minutes Memphis began to throw up three pointers on every possession, with hopes of cutting into the SLU lead, connecting on three of them in the final two minutes, including two from Rodney Carney in the final 14 seconds. But after the end result was, for the most part, settled. Carney led Memphis with 19 points, making five three pointers, missing 11 from beyond the arc.
The Billikens were able to seal the win at the free-throw line late, making 14-20 free throws in the final two minutes of the game. Seven of Brown's 10 points came on free throws during this time.
In addition to Ohanon's 26 points, he also added 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Vouyoukas was the Billikens' second leading scorer with 13 points.
With the win, the Billikens improved their record to 8-20 overall and 5-10 in Conference USA play. The win also clinched a spot in the C-USA postseason tournament, which will be held in Memphis next week. With the loss, Memphis fell to 16-13 overall and 9-6 in C-USA. This loss, along with losses last week to Charlotte and Louisville, put a dent in the Tigers' hopes for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. In order to make the Big Dance, Memphis will likely have to win the C-USA Tournament, which will be played in their home arena.
"All in all, a good win," SLU coach Brad Soderberg said after the game. "If nothing else, a nice consolation prize at this point of the year."
On Saturday the Billikens lost on the road to the DePaul University Blue Demons 53-49. Junior guard Anthony Drejaj led the Billikens with 13 points.
The Billikens are next in action Saturday when they travel to Milwaukee to take on the Marquette University Golden Eagles in their final regular season C-USA game. Tip-off is set for noon. The Golden Eagles are currently 19-9 overall and 7-8 in C-USA.
The C-USA postseason tournament will begin next Wednesday, March 9, in Memphis, and will run through Saturday, March 12.
"This is our NCAA Tournament," Soderberg said. "I'm excited, and I know our guys are excited about it."
