Men’s Basketball hosted North Carolina A&T at Chaifetz on Saturday, Feb. 4. SLU won 78-59 in this nonconference matchup. SLU improved to 8-15 on the year with this win.
SLU used an 8-1 rally late in the first half to jump ahead off a four-point lead. Junior guard Davell Roby chipped in with a 3-pointer to give SLU a 10-point lead as they headed to the locker room.
North Carolina A&T rallied in the second half, coming within two points of the lead twice. SLU answered both times. There was a 12-0 run by SLU, ignited by a Roby 3-pointer with 5:49 left. SLU got a comfortable cushion, and easily held on for the 19-point win.
SLU was led by senior guard Mike Crawford, who scored 19, shooting 8-12 from the field. Roby chipped in with 18 points, shooting 6-9 from 3-point range. Junior guard Aaron Hines was one point short of a double-double, scoring nine with 10 assists.
As a team, SLU set a Chaifetz record for assists with 26 and shot 71 percent from the free-throw line. 34 of SLU’s points were in the paint and 19 were off the bench.
SLU traveled to New York for an A-10 matchup against St. Bonaventure. The Billikens carried a lead into the half, but the Bonnies rallied back in the second half. SLU lost 70-55. SLU falls to 8-16 overall and 3-8 in the A-10.
SLU started its regular five (freshman forward Jalen Johnson, junior guard Davell Roby, junior guard Aaron Hines, and senior guard Mike Crawford) with a notable, last minute substitution: senior forward Reggie Agbeko started in place of freshman forward Elliott Welmer. The first few minutes of the game were all Bonnies’. They went on a 13-3 run early to take a 13-5. SLU rallied back a minute later with a jumper by Hines, followed by a Johnson trey. SLU took a 14-13 lead, and freshman forward Zeke Moore hit a trey of his own a minute later. This ignited a 10-0 run that gave SLU their largest lead of the game at 24-16. Sophomore center Matt Neufeld hit a jumper just as time expired in the first half to give SLU a 32-26 lead as they headed to the locker room.
The Bonnies started the second half with the ball, but failed to convert on the opening possession. However, a 5-0 SBU run brought the Bonnies within one. Roby hit a trey with 15:54 to play, igniting a 7-3 run that put SLU on top 43-36. SBU answered back with a 10-2 run of its own to take a 46-45 lead. A back-and-forth battle by both teams kept the game within one. An SBU trey by Adams with 7:34 to play ignited the 20-6 SBU run that sealed the game’s outcome.
Roby led SLU with 16 points, shooting 7-17 from the field; joined by Hines, who scored 12, including three treys; and Johnson, who scored five and pulled down six rebounds.
SLU scored 26 of its points in the paint, 12 off the bench, and 13 off turnovers. SLU also pulled down 31 team rebounds.
In the first half, SLU shot 44.8 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the arc. SBU shot 37.5 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
SLU heads back home for another A-10 matchup against Duquesne on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Bills will host A-10 rival Dayton for a Valentine’s Day date at Chaifetz for the annual Billiken Blizzard white-out game on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. with free t-shirts for fans.
