You could see it in the faces of the fans. It was on the faces of the team. Even head coach Rick Majerus showed it. No, it wasn’t school spirit.
It was frustration.
Richmond ended Saint Louis’ nine-game home winning streak with a 70-62 win last Saturday at Chaifetz Arena. The loss dips SLU to 11-8 overall and 2-3 in the Atlantic 10. It was its first home loss since a 76-74 overtime since Nov. 19 against Kent State.
“We take one freshman out and put another freshman in,” Majerus said. “We’re not getting much time to prep. As much as we have athleticism, our toughness and our knowledge sometimes isn’t there. It’s tough-one of the hardest challenges of my career. But I realized it would be.”
Kevin Lisch led SLU with 18 points, followed by 13 points from Tommie Liddell III. Brian Conklin and Willie Reed had nine points apiece. Paul Eckerle started in place of an injured Kwamain Mitchell; it was Eckerle’s second start of his career. Kyle Cassity also played the most minutes thus far in his short career.
Mitchell’s absence gave SLU a major predicament: who will start as point guard? The answer was Lisch-but moving Lisch to point scrambled the already unpredictable offense. No Mitchell also meant a slower defense for the Bills. It didn’t help that Richmond shot more than 60 percent from the field in the first half.
The game started out well for Saint Louis. The Billikens jumped out to an 8-2 advantage early but the Spiders answered with 3-point buckets from Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson to knot the score at 8-all with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. The lead would then change on several occasions, with Richmond hanging in the game thanks to efficient 3-point shooting. The Spiders, who came into the contest second in the A-10 and No. 22 in the nation in shooting percentage, hit six of their first eight 3-point tries.
The Billikens sliced into their deficit to start the second half thanks to a Liddell fast-break basket. In addition, Liddell, Reed and Conklin all hit free throws to pull within seven points at 36-29 with 17:03 left in the game. But the Spiders would rally and go up by double-digits.
The drama came at 6:28. Reed was called for a foul under the net and the crowd did not agree; neither did Majerus, and after asking for an explanation of the foul, he got called for a technical by the referee. The crowd didn’t agree with that either. Majerus later maintained his innocence.
“I don’t talk to the refs. They do their job, and I do mine,” Majerus said.
The foul would kill SLU’s momentum and seal the game for Richmond. A Lisch three with 30 seconds left put the Billikens to within four points for the first time in the half, but Richmond hit 4-of-4 free throws down the stretch to seal the 70-62 victory.
“We used to be good defensively,” Majerus said. “I hope to be good again at some point in time. We’re a bit out of sorts. I’m trying to work this out. These kids have school and practice and, I don’t know, maybe I’m working them too hard. But no one’s going to feel sorry for us, so we don’t feel sorry for us. I’m optimistic about the future.”
The obvious question on Billiken fans’ minds is when to expect Mitchell to return to the court. As of Tuesday, Mitchell was making progress, taking shots at practice, but not cleared to play by his doctors.
“I’d rather he come back two years too late than one minute too early,” Majerus said.
Mitchell will be a game time decision against Dayton.
The showdown against the Flyers is tonight at 7 p.m. The Bills also take on Fordham on Saturday in the Bronx. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. SLU is yet to win on the road.
