Saint Louis University’s conference showdowns last week proved to be a tale of two cities, as the men’s basketball team cruised to a dominating victory at home, but fell in a shootout in Philadelphia.
The Billikens ran away with the game early against Xavier and were never really pushed by the Musketeers. SLU opened the game on a 10-0 run before XU found their way onto the scoreboard. The Musketeers’ first field goal came with nearly nine minutes gone in the first half.
The combination of a stifling Billiken defense and XU shooting woes made for a tough half for the Musketeers. Xavier hit only seven of 27 shots from the floor and missed their first 14 three-pointers.
On the other side of the floor, the Bills dropped five of their seven threes in the first half, leading to the SLU lead.
The early lead helped the Bills earn their 29-17 lead at the break. SLU took a 16-point lead with five minutes left in the first half, which was their largest in the game.
XU’s offense quickly found their shots in second half, when they were able to close the gap to nine points with slightly more than 10 minutes left in the game. Guard Drew Lavender gave the Bills fits, as he drained four threes in the second half.
Lavender’s 16 points led the way for all Xavier players.
Just as the Musketeers appeared to be closing, forward Luke Meyer gave the Bills a boost with nine quick points. Meyer also grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Bills and tie the game high. Forward Tommie Liddell poured in 21 points to lead all scorers.
A technical foul assessed to the Musketeer bench also helped swing the momentum further toward the Billikens.
While the Musketeers continually threatened in the second half, the SLU lead never dropped below seven. The Bills dropped 19 of their 23 free throws in the second half to ice the game and finish with a score of 76-65. Since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Bills have gone 3-0 against XU.
During the layoff between the Bills’ contests, the team announced in a press release that redshirt-freshman forward Obi Ikeakor declined to return to class during the spring semester. Ikeakor had not seen game action since Dec. 16.
Ikeakor, a former Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Player of the Year, but did not play in the 2005-2006 season after tearing his ACL in high school. He saw limited action this year, averaging 1.4 points per game.
The loss of Ikeakor causes depth problems for the Bills, as they have also lost freshman forward Horace Dixon, who also did not return to SLU for the spring semester. Both players filled the power forward spot for the Bills.
To continue their busy week, the Bills traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Owls of Temple on Wednesday night. SLU followed their solid display of defense against Xavier with a shootout game against the Owls. The teams combined to shoot 51 three-pointers in the contest.
The Bills came out to take an early lead once again, but could not keep Temple at bay. SLU’s largest lead of the game was only four, coming almost three minutes into the first half.
This high-scoring affair was fueled by the hands of Tommie Liddell, who dropped in 28 points in the game, setting a career high. Liddell’s binge was aided by the eight threes.
After Temple opened a 10-point lead in the waning minutes of the first half, SLU showed some fury to battle back within four.
Guard Dustin Maguire’s first three career points helped keep the Bills close before Liddell hit a buzzer-beating trey to close the half. The teams headed to the break with a score of 49-45 in favor of the Owls.
SLU was also hurt by the loss of guard Kevin Lisch, who went down in the first half with a leg injury. Lisch logged 15 minutes before leaving the game.
The Bills hung close throughout the second half but never did overtake the Owls. Meyer brought the margin to one right out of halftime with a three, but the Bills could not come up with a stop on the defensive side of the ball to keep Temple off the board.
Temple was able to take advantage of the Bills’ foul trouble throughout the second half, as the Owls found their way to the charity stripe 21 times in the half.
SLU only attempted eight free throws in the game, to Temple’s 28. Guard Dwayne Polk and forward Justin Johnson both fouled out of the contest, and four other Billikens had three or more fouls against them.
The Owls were able to capitalize on those free chances and put away the Bills by a final score of 85-79.
Despite the loss, the Bills set a team record by hitting 15 three pointers. Liddell’s eight triples also sets a record for most treys by an individual.
The Bills (12-6, 2-3 A-10) travel to New York on Saturday to face Fordham in an afternoon match. The game tips off at 11 a.m.
