A look back at one of the more memorable runs in recent history of SLU’s program

Loyola Marymount 75

SLU 68

No. 23 Saint Louis University fell 75-68 to Loyola Marymount University Tuesday, Nov. 29 in non-conference men’s basketball action at the Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles.

The loss was the first of the season for the 6-1 Billikens. Loyola Marymount won its third in a row and second this year against a ranked opponent, as it opened with a victory over No. 17 UCLA.

Junior forward Cody Ellis led the Billikens in scoring with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

Senior forward Brian Conklin and junior point guard Kwamain Mitchell had 13 points apiece. Sophomore guard Jordair Jett scored eight points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds.

SLU led for the majority of the first half and built a 10-point lead at 26-16 with 4:56 remaining in the frame when Mitchell drained a trey.

A pair of Conklin free throws followed to put the Billikens up 12, but then Loyola Marymount went on a 10-0 run to pull within two of the lead. Jett hit a jumper in the final minute of the half to send the teams to the locker rooms with the Billikens leading 30-26.

A back-and-forth second half saw the game tied on five occasions, and the lead change hands six times. LMU used an 8-2 rally to go on top 36-34.

After Ellis put the Billikens ahead by one at 52-51 with 8:58 to go in the game, LMU again went on a scoring spurt, this time scoring seven in a row to stretch its lead to 58-52 with 6:19 to play.

LaRon Armstead (game-high 22 points), Anthony Ireland (17 points) and Jared DuBois (16 points) took over from that point on, and the Billikens never threatened again.

SLU 83

Oklahoma 63

Behind a career-high-tying 25 points by tournament MVP Brian Conklin, the Saint Louis Billikens topped Oklahoma 83-63 Sunday to claim the 76 Classic championship on Sunday, Nov. 27 in Anaheim, Calif.

The victory improved the Billikens’ record to 6-0, a ledger that includes wins against teams from the Pac-12 (Washington), ACC (Boston College), Big East (Villanova) and Big XII (Oklahoma).

Conklin’s 25 points, which matched his scoring output against Washington earlier in the year, came on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. He also hit all seven of his free-throw attempts.

Cody Ellis wrapped up a strong tournament with a 16-point effort on 6-of-8 shooting. He was 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Kwamain Mitchell, who was named to the All-Tournament team, scored 10 points.

The Billikens shot 60.4 percent from the floor, 53 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the line.

Saint Louis never trailed against the Sooners. Consecutive 3-pointers from Ellis and Mitchell stretched the Billiken lead to seven, at 35-28. Mitchell nailed another trey, and Jordair Jett hit a free throw as the Billikens led 39-30 at halftime.

Conklin scored two baskets in a row to start the second half to put the Billikens on top by 13. An Ellis trey put SLU up 55-40 with 13:31 left.

The Billikens were in control the rest of the way. A 10-0 run, which was started and capped by 3-pointers by Kyle Cassity, had the Billikens up by 22 late in the game, and SLU cruised to the 20-point victory.

SLU 80

Villanova 68

Billiken sophomore guard Jordair Jett scored 19 points off the bench, and Saint Louis drained 14 3-pointers to top Villanova 80-68 on Friday, Nov. 25 in the semifinals of the 76 Classic.

Jett was 7-of-8 from the floor and nailed a pair of treys. He also collected six rebounds. Cody Ellis turned in 14 points, including three treys, while Kyle Cassity had four 3-pointers. SLU’s 14 3-pointers was a 76 Classic record and one off the school record.

“Jordair gave us a great defensive lift and he hit a couple shots, but what he did was he was ball-safe, and he was ball-strong and he hit some shots,” SLU head coach Rick Majerus said. “He’s really been working on his shooting, but he did a great job defensively.

“I thought our guys withstood the adversity of their lead and them hitting some shots and us missing some good shots. I thought they hit a lot of contested shots, and I thought that we missed some and stayed with it.”

Villanova (4-1) led for the majority of the first half before the Billikens manufactured a 20-2 run to give SLU an eight-point lead with 1:33 remaining in the first half.

Cassity sparked the rally with a trey, Mitchell drained a pair of 3s and Ellis hit two in a row as the Billikens led 36-28. Saint Louis had nine 3-pointers in the opening half and led 38-34 at halftime.

The Wildcats opened the second half with a trey to pull within one, but the Billikens’ Rob Loe answered with a 3-pointer on the other end.

Dwayne Evans got into the mix with a 3-pointer to make it 52-41 with 14:59 remaining. Brian Conklin’s layup gave the Billikens their largest lead, at 58-44, with 12:05 to play.

The Billikens kept a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game, and Ellis scored the Billikens’ final seven points of the game for the 80-62 final.

SLU 62

Boston College 51

Junior point guard Kwamain Mitchell scored a season-high 20 points and junior forward Brian Conklin added 18 to power Saint Louis to a 62-51 victory against Boston College Thursday, Nov. 24 in the opening game of the 76 Classic at Anaheim Arena.

Mitchell’s 20 points came on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor and 3-7 from long range. He was a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe, recorded four assists and did not commit a turnover.

Conklin was 7-of-11 from the floor and tied for team-high honors with four rebounds. He also tied a career-high with three steals.

Junior forward Cody Ellis recorded eight points, while senior guard Kyle Cassity chipped in seven. Ellis and junior forward Cory Remekun totaled four rebounds apiece.

The Billikens turned the ball over just seven times ,while forcing 20 Boston College turnovers.

Saint Louis came out of the gates a bit sluggish, hitting just two of its first eight shots to trail 13-5 early on.

But the Billikens would score the next six points, capped by an Ellis 3-pointer, to pull within two at 15-13 with 10 minutes to go in the first half.

The lead would change hands over the next several minutes. A Mitchell trey put the Billikens up by two at 22-20, and Conklin made it 24-22 with 2:05 to go.

From that point, the Billikens would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way and took a 29-23 lead into halftime, thanks in part to a trey by Mitchell in the Bills’ final possession of the half.

Conklin, who had just two points in the first half, got things started in the second half by scoring four of his 16 second-half points in the first two minutes.

Mitchell, Cassity and sophomore guard Mike McCall Jr. hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Billikens stretched out to a 14-point lead at 42-28 with 15:55 to play.

The Billiken advantage got as high as 15 points with 8:02 to go, when Conklin converted a bucket in the lane, but the Eagles did not go down quietly. A pair of treys by BC’s Ryan Anderson and Matt Humphrey cut the Billiken lead to nine with 5:25 to go. Humphrey hit two field goals, as BC trailed by seven with less than three minutes remaining.

Mitchell put the game away when he hit a pair of free throws and a jumper, and the Billiken defense held the Eagles scoreless down the stretch for the 62-51 SLU victory.

SLU 77

Washington 64

Brian Conklin scored 25 points, and Saint Louis spoiled Washington head coach and former Billiken mentor Lorenzo Romar’s homecoming with a convincing 77-64 victory over the Huskies Sunday at Chaifetz Arena.

Conklin was 9-of-15 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in eclipsing the previous career best of 24 points that he tallied at Xavier last season.

Kwamain Mitchell registered a season-high 18 points on a 7-of-13 shooting performance that included a 4-of-9 effort from 3-point range.

Dwayne Evans and Cody Ellis tied for team-high rebounding honors with five boards apiece. Mitchell and Kyle Cassity recorded game highs of four steals and seven assists, respectively, with Cassity’s total tying his career high.

Washington (3-1) got 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds from Terrence Ross, 14 points from Tony Wroten and 11 points from Aziz N’Diaye. The Huskies shot 42.4 percent for the game but were just 9-of-28 (32.1 percent) in the first half as the Billikens built a 25-point halftime lead.In addition, SLU earned a 40-26 advantage on the boards and committed only eight turnovers, to 16 miscues by Washington.