Despite two solid wins to conclude the regular season, the bumpy ride through the 2004-2005 basketball season has ended for the Saint Louis University men's basketball team.
The Billikens fell 79-59 to the University of Memphis Tigers in the first round of the Kelly Tires Conference USA Tournament last Wednesday night at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.
The Billikens concluded their season with a 9-21 record overall and 6-10 in C-USA games. The loss also closed the team's 10-year affiliation with Conference USA, as all SLU teams will make the move to the Atlantic 10 conference next season.
Freshman guard Luke Meyer led the Billikens with 12 points, making two of three three pointers.
Joining Meyer in double figures for SLU was junior guard Anthony Drejaj with 11 points, connecting on three of six shots from beyond the three-point arc.
Seniors Reggie Bryant and Izik Ohanon concluded their careers at SLU. Bryant scored nine points, while Ohanon was burdened by foul trouble throughout the game, scoring four points.
The score remained close through most of the first half. The highlight play of the game came on a thunderous dunk by Memphis' Rodney Carney, in the face of SLU sophomore center Ian Vouyoukas. The Billikens managed to grab a 19-18 lead before Memphis went on a run to close out the half and lead 35-29 at the break.
Memphis blew the game open early in the second half. The six-point halftime lead grew to 14, only for the Billikens to cut the lead in half with a 7-0 run, briefly quieting the hometown Memphis crowd. The Tigers quickly had their fans back on their feet, as the lead swelled back up to 14 with a Memphis run, which gave the Tigers a comfortable lead that would only grow as the game progressed.
Memphis was powered by a dominating one-two combination of Carney and Jeremy Hunt, who scored 23 and a career high 22 points, respectively.
Carney, who had been in a shooting slump leading up to the game, including making five of 16 three pointers a week before in the Billikens' 70-61 win over the Tigers at the Savvis Center, was lights out from the field, making eight of nine field goals, including three of three on three pointers. With his 22 points, Hunt eclipsed his previous career high of 19, as well as his season high of 14 points.
The Tigers also received valuable scoring from guard Anthony Rice, who made four of eight three pointers en route to 14 points.
Following their win over the Billikens, Memphis continued a strong run through the tournament on their home court, defeating Charlotte and South Florida on the next two nights to reach the championship game against Louisville, where they could have clinched a spot in the 65 team NCAA Tournament with a win.
With the Tigers trailing by two points to Louisville in the closing seconds, Darius Washington Jr., the Tigers' star freshman guard was fouled while shooting a three pointer as time ran out and was awarded three free throws with the chance to send the game to overtime or win it outright.
In one of the most dramatic moments of this college basketball season, Washington converted the first shot, bringing his team within a point, and then missed the last two shots, to the heartbreak of many in the FedEx Forum.
In the final regular-season game for the Billikens, SLU spoiled Marquette's senior day on Saturday, March 5, holding the Golden Eagles to only 39 points in a 51-39 win.
In a game that was sluggish offensively, the Billikens were able to pull away in the final minutes, shooting 60 percent from the field in the second half. The Billikens were led in scoring by Drejaj, who scored 13 points in addition to playing stellar defense on Marquette's Steve Novak, despite being eight inches shorter than the Golden Eagles sniper.
Bryant broke out of a lengthy slump in the second half by providing the Billikens with a pair of three pointers that helped lead his team to victory.
Vouyoukas was also strong on the inside in the second half, scoring eight of his 10 points in the closing minutes.
