No one told head men’s basketball coach Rick Majerus and his players that there was a winter break. The Saint Louis Billikens played seven games during the University’s month-long hiatus, managing a respectable 5-2 record. The team also finished non-conference play over winter break on Jan. 2.
“You can’t combat lack of experience,” Majerus said. “You can’t accelerate the growth process. I just want us to give a great effort. We’ve got to defend better. We have to mitigate the opponent’s size, strength and experience with a toughness that hopefully they’re trying to acquire.”
Senior guards Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell III broke into the Billiken all-time scoring list over the break; Lisch moved into the seventh slot and Liddell followed right behind, moving to ninth on the list.
SLU began their winter play in the Las Vegas Class Tournament at home with wins over USC Upstate 55-38 and Liberty 73-70. The team traveled to Las Vegas to play the final two games of the tournament, taking with them a four game winning streak. The Bills fell in heartbreaking fashion to DePaul 65-61 but managed a tough victory over Fresno State 56-52. Liddell was named Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week for his contributions to the Bills. Liddell recorded double-doubles against USC Upstate and Liberty.
The Billikens came home after Christmas and delivered a thumping to Maryland-Baltimore County. Freshman forward Willie Reed recorded a career-high 18 points and SLU recorded its highest point total this season, scoring 81 against UMBC.
But the real excitement would start in the New Year. The Billikens hosted North Carolina A&T and delivered their biggest comeback in years. Afer falling behind early to overmatched competition, the Billikens rallied from an 18-point deficit against the Aggies and topped A&T 60-52.
Liddell III sparked the comeback, leading the team with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half. It was the largest come-from-behind win for the Billikens since they came back from a 20-point deficit against Houston on March 5, 2004.
For his efforts against UMBC and A&T, Reed received A-10 Rookie of the Week honors.
SLU finished non-conference play on a three game winning streak. The team’s non-conference record of 9-5 matched the 2007 season record of non-conference play.
A-10 play started in a losing effort for the Billikens last Thursday against No. 16 Xavier. The Musketeers (13-2) dealt SLU a tough blow; the Bills shot just 30 percent from the field and 48 percent from the free throw line in the 70-44 loss. Xavier led early, scoring the first seven points, and never looked back. Xavier would lead by 17 at the half and hold all Billikens under double-digits in scoring.
Lisch scored nine points for the Bills, and freshman Brian Conklin added eight. Senior Barry Eberhardt topped SLU with seven rebounds.
