It could have been worse. The Billikens went 1-1 last week, collecting a moral victory (if you believe in such things) at Massachusetts on Saturday before sending its seniors out in style with a home win over Richmond on Wednesday night.
The Billikens fell just short of claiming what would have been their most impressive win of the season, on the road against the A-10’s top team. Saint Louis University held the Minutemen to 53 points-their lowest-scoring game of the season. The only problem is that SLU was unable to muster enough points for the victory, and they lost by three last Saturday in Amherst.
The Billikens had a chance to win the game in the final seconds. Trailing 51-50 with 15 ticks left on the clock, sophomore guard Tommie Liddell, who played through a toe injury suffered against Dayton on Wednesday, Feb. 21 saw his crossover swiped away by Gary Forbes.
The Massachusetts forward picked up the loose ball, was fouled and made both free throws. A full-court desperation pass intended for senior center Ian Vouyoukas was broken up as time expired.
Vouyoukas kept the Billikens in the game throughout. The senior center scored 18 points, including the go-ahead free throw with 26 seconds left for a traditional three-point play and 50-49 lead.
On the ensuing possession, James Life was fouled on the way to the basket and nailed both free throws. The Billikens’ bid to hold for the last shot failed when Liddell lost the ball, as SLU lost 53-50.
Vouyoukas also had five rebounds, two rejections and played solid defense all night. Sophomore Kevin Lisch, who netted 10 points, was the only other Billiken to reach double figures. He led the team in assists, with six and was tied for the team-lead in rebounds with Liddell; each had six.
The Billikens delivered arguably their best defensive game of the year. They held Massachusetts to 21.9 percent shooting from the field in the first half, and 29.5 percent shooting for the game, and were able to limit Stephane Lasme, one of premier big men in the conference, to just nine points. SLU shot nearly 48 percent in the second half, but was just 2-10 for the game from long distance and committed 18 turnovers.
Wednesday was a different story. Vouyoukas scored a season-high 19 points, corralled eight rebounds and was a perfect five-for-five from the line in his final regular season home game. Lisch, however, stole the show, scoring a season-high 26 points-including five treys-to go along with eight boards and three assists.
The game was tightly contested in the early going, with SLU grabbing an 11-9 advantage after the first eight minutes of play. But the Billikens made the most of their free-throw opportunities and got threes from Liddell and junior Dwayne Polk to highlight a 16-3 run that gave SLU a 27-12 lead. The Spiders scored consecutive baskets off Billiken turnovers, but Lisch nailed two consecutive triples from the right corner, to give his team a 38-21 halftime lead. Lisch had 16 points and six rebounds at the break.
Junior Luke Meyer opened the second stanza with a traditional three-point play. Vouyoukas scored the next five points on a dunk and a three-point play of his own, as the Billiken lead ballooned to 25. Although SLU maintained a 20-plus-point lead throughout most of the second half, the Spiders used some impressive long-distance shooting to scramble back into the game. Richmonds trailed 66-51 with 3:46 remaining. A steal and a layup from Liddell and five straight points from Lisch put the game out of reach, but an 8-0 run by the Spiders pulled them to within 10 points with less than a minute on the clock.
But the Billikens converted 5-6 free throws to hold on for the victory. A free throw by senior guard Wendell Bennett was the first point of his career.
The sluggish offense that the Billikens showcased against Massachusetts could not be found against Richmond. The Billikens shot 48.9 percent from the field for the game, including 50 percent from behind the arc and 89.3 percent from the free-throw line.
SLU (18-11, 8-7 A-10) closes out the season tomorrow at Dayton. A victory would give the team its most wins since the 2003-04 season, the last time the Billikens appeared in the National Invitational Tournament.
