Men’s basketball coach Rick Majerus said that he cannot contain himself when it comes to advancing his team.
“We had a good shoot-around today, which ended up [lasting] one hour and 40 minutes,” Majerus said. “We try to make progress everyday, and I am really pleased with the way [the players] are trying to progress academically.”
In Majerus’ debut at home, the Billikens defeated Detroit 66-58 on Nov. 14.
Saint Louis University used a 10-0 burst in the second half to take control of the game and held off a late charge by Detroit. The Bills shot 66.7 percent in the second half.
Defensive fouls in the second half also allowed the Titans to close the scoring gap.
“Our defense is OK, but we have to get rid of the hand-checking fouls,” junior guard Tommie Liddell III said. “We have to work on sliding our feet. They hit a couple of tough shots with our hands in their face[s], but we still have to work on our defense.”
Senior forward Luke Meyer said that one of the Billikens’ second-half adjustments was a concentration on running in order to focus on boxing out.
“In transition, your first three steps are the most important,” Meyer said. “They were shooting a lot of 3s, so there were long rebounds … Our guards did a great job of swooping in and starting the break.”
The Billikens’ emphasis against Detroit was to go inside to Husak because of his 4-inch advantage over the other team’s center.
“If we run the motion the way Coach Majerus wants us to, then we will fall into a lot of easy shots,” Meyer said. “Whatever way we can get shots-if we have to grind it out-that dictated the way we played.”
Senior Bryan Husak led the Billikens, with 13 points, followed by junior Kevin Lisch, with 12. Husak hit five of six shots from the field en route to hitting 13 points, and he grabbed a career-high seven rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
“I played behind [former center] Ian Vouyoukas for four years, and it was tough for me,” Husak said. “But that helped me a lot, to be able to come out and be ready to go. It is my last year. I don’t [want] to look back with any regrets.”
Majerus said that Husak is still progressing as a player, considering that the team has only been together for a month.
“He played more in the last three games at Pittsburgh than he has practiced in the last month,” Majerus said. “Now he is starting to practice, and he is making an effort. Bryce obviously gives you a lift, and he is getting more of an exuberance for the game.”
With the win, the Billikens improve to 3-1 on the season. Majerus said he is proud of the unified effort of the coaching staff and players in the team’s win.
“I don’t know how the year is going to be,” Majerus said. “But for tonight, I told the staff we are going to go out and celebrate the nice effort the guys are giving us. I’m very lucky; I have great assistant coaches, a great secretary and good help.”
