Win over rival puts Billikens on top of Atlantic 10 conference
The Saint Louis University Billikens men’s basketball team defeated at Xavier on Wednesday night with a final score of, 73-68.
For this season, this victory is a defining win for the Bills as they have beaten Xavier who won the previous five regular season Atlantic 10 conference titles. This win leaves the A-10 wide open as Xavier has struggled since their infamous brawl with Cincinnati. SLU is in prime position to take hold of the A-10 as this win gives them a share of the lead in the conference standings.
“The guys did a good job,” SLU Head Coach Rick Majerus said.
The Bills (16-4, 4-2 A-10) were led by Brian Conklin, who scored 19 points. Ten of his points were scored in the second half. Roe Loe contributed 14 points, and Kwamain Mitchell had 9 points and 7 assists. The Bills have won three straight conference games.
The Bills jumped out to an early 11-6 lead. The Bills maintained a slim lead for most of the first half. The Bills slowly started to build their lead, but Xavier cut the lead down to four with 2:37 remaining in the first half.
After a Bills timeout, SLU went on a 9-0 run to extend their lead, 39-26 with 0:50 left in the first half. The run was capped off by a Cody Ellis 3- pointer. The Bills took a 41-29 lead going into halftime. Roe Loe scored 13 points and Ellis scored 12 points on four 3-pointers both in the first half
SLU struggled out of gate in the second half. After the first media timeout, Xavier started an 8-0 run which cut the Bills lead, 49-46. Xavier then scored four more points which tied the game at 50-50. This was the only tie of the game.After Xavier tied the game, SLU went on a 6-0 run to retake the lead 56-50.
Xavier began to foul the Bills. Brian Conklin and Kwamain Mitchell began hitting some clutch free throws. However, Xavier continued to stay in the game. With 35 seconds left, Xavier was within three points. Xavier fouled Mitchell who hit his two free throws to make it a five point lead, 71-66.
Jordair Jett fouled a Xavier player with 22 seconds left in the game and Xavier converted their two free throws. After fouling Mike McCall Jr., he hits his two free throws which sealed the deal for SLU.
“It is a big team win for us. We all came together and played great team defense.” McCall said.
With the victory, Saint Louis is now tied for the lead in the conference standings with Massachusetts, La Salle, Dayton, and St. Bonaventure. SLU will be playing all of these teams within the next two weeks starting with Massachusetts.
Xavier has fallen mightily since their brawl against Cincinnati. During the Cincinnati game, Xavier was ranked 8th nationally and since then have lost 7 out of their last 12 games and are now unranked. Xavier also dropped their second straight conference game.
Xavier was led by Mark Lyons who scored 27 points and Tu Holloway who scored 22 points. Xavier’s 43-game home conference winning streak was snapped. The last team to beat Xavier at the Cintas Center was Saint Joseph’s in 2006. Two of Xavier’s regular starters, Mark Lyons and Kenny Freese, did not start the game due to a coach’s decision.
“It is an accomplishment to beat Xavier, I know they had a long home conference winning streak, but right now I’m excited and it feels so great to be a part of this,” Mitchell said.
Saint Louis continues their road trip on Saturday when they face Massachusetts. Massachusetts (15-5, 4-2 A-10) will be a tough conference challenge for the Bills.
UMass is led by sophomore guard Chaz Williams who averages 15.9 points per game and 5.9 assists per game. SLU has claimed a huge victory over traditional A-10 power Xavier, but with UMass waiting on Saturday, the Bills cannot celebrate this win for very long.
