The Billiken basketball team had a busy fall break. The team played five games in 10 days, four of which were part of the Corpus Christi Classic, winning three over the stretch. SLU’s first game in the Corpus Christi Classic tournament was at Chaifetz, on Nov. 23, against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. SLU fell to the Islanders, 62-56. The Billikens were up 52-49 with 3:18 left, but a 13-4 Islander run gave them the late victory.
The next game in the tournament was against North Carolina A&T, on Nov. 25 where SLU was victorious, 57-54. Freshman guard Miles Reynolds was the key player in this game, with a game and career-high 19 points, 14 of which came from the foul line. Reynolds was cut above his eye late in the first half and received stitches at halftime. However, after returning to the game from his injury, he scored 15 points in the second half and added three steals and two assists on the night to help SLU to a victory. After the game, Reynolds said he had a similar experience in high school, during the Illinois State Tournament, where he was cut in a similar place, received stitches in the middle of the game and then came back and delivered a lights-out performance.
After the A&T win, SLU traveled south to Corpus Christi, Texas, to finish the tournament. Their first opponent down south was Mississippi State on Nov. 28. The Bulldogs defeated the Billikens by their largest deficit this season 75-50. Junior guard Austin McBroom led the team in scoring with 10 points, and junior guard Ash Yacoubou also added eight on 4-of-6 from the field. Mississippi State shot 63.6 percent from the field in the opening half and started the game with three-consecutive 3-pointers to give them a 9-0 advantage out of the gate. They opened the game 11-of-12 from the floor.
SLU came back after the loss against the Bulldogs and played Bradley the following day. The Billikens defeated the Braves 60-57, after a McBroom 3-pointer with seven seconds left sealed the victory. McBroom again led SLU in scoring and had a career night with a career-high 26 points. The game-winning shot was very similar to the shot that won the opening game against Southern Illinois. McBroom hit five other 3-point shots in the game for a total of six, the most in a single game by a Billiken since Kwamain Mitchell hit seven treys in a Jan. 2012 game against Rhode Island. Bradley is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, and the win was SLU’s third over a Missouri Valley opponent this season.
Freshman Brett Jolly recorded his first career start against the Braves, and freshman Milik Yarbrough went 4-of-4 from the field for 10 points. The win over Bradley gave SLU a 2-2 record overall for the tournament.
SLU returned to Chaifetz Arena on Dec. 2, to play Division II cross-state opponent Rockhurst. SLU was up on the Hawks all game, and the game ended 80-48 in favor of SLU. The 32-point final margin was SLU’s largest lead of the game. Yacoubou recorded his first-ever double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He achieved his 10 rebounds by midway through the second half.
Another important statistic in the game was fouls. Rockhurst committed 16 fouls in the first half and 27 on the evening. This sent the Billikens to the line 30 times in the game.
Interestingly, Yacoubou and McBroom were not the two players with the most minutes on the evening. Yarbrough and Reynolds saw the most court time with 26 and 25 minutes, respectively. The duo also led the team in scoring, with 14 points from Reynolds and 12 from Yarbrough.
Head coach Jim Crews indicated his pleasure with the strides the team has made so far this season.
“Our guys are down the right road. This year’s team is just at the three-mile marker. Last year’s team was at the 147-mile marker,” Crews said.
Yacoubou echoed Crews’ statements, saying that time is all the young squad needs.
“I feel we’ve made strides and learned from previous games. The more time we spend playing with each other, the better we’re going to get, and the more comfortable we’re going to get,” Yacoubou said.
Next up for the Bills is a road contest against powerhouse Wichita State on Dec. 6. The Shockers have five wins, including their exhibition game, and are coming off a loss to Utah. In their first five games, they scored at least 70 points, and held all of their opponents between 54-57 points. They have twice hit triple digits against opponents, including the exhibition.
SLU’s Yarbrough and Shocker junior guard Fred VanVleet have past connections; the two played for the same AAU club growing up, VanVleet playing on the team one year older. The game begins at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest.
