| SLU
Billikens (12-5, 2-2) won their second-straight A10 contest in
defeating Xavier University
(12-5, 2-1) 76-65 at the Scottrade Center (reported attendance,
10,861). The Billikens are continuing to improve at home and
one might make two observations. There has been much better shooting,
better defense, and fewer turnovers. SLU opened up a very quick
10-0 lead over the visiting Musketeers. Xavier coach Sean Miller
searched for ways to contain both Billikens center Ian Vouyoukas
and their tandem guard combination of Tommie Liddell and Kevin
Lisch. The Musketeers were successful in shutting down Vouyoukas
(and winning on the offensive boards) but had no answer to defending
the SLU guards (Liddell, Lisch, Dwayne Polk) and forward Luke
Meyer. The Billikens took a 29-17 halftime lead and extended
it to as many as 16 points in the second half. Xavier was able
to mount a series of surges, cutting the lead to 7 points but
were not able to survive the accurate shooting of the host Billikens.
SLU was led by sophomore guards Tommie Liddell (21 pts, 5 rebounds,
4 assists) and Kevin Lisch (19 pts, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), junior
guard Dwayne Polk (12 pts, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), and junior
forward Luke Meyer (12 pts, 7 rebounds, 1 assist). The Billikens
shot 56% from the field (64% from 3-pt range) and 79% from the
charity line. The Musketeers were led by junior guard Drew Lavender
(16 pts, 1 rebound, 1 assist), senior forward Justin Cage (12
pts, 5 rebounds, 1 assist), and freshman forward Derrick Brown
(11 pts, 3 rebounds, 1 assist). Xavier shot 40% from the field
(27% from 3-pt range) and 73% from the charity line. SLU had
28 rebounds (4O, 24D), 16 assists, 0 steals, 1 blocked shots,
and 10 turnovers as compared with 32 rebounds (14O, 18D), 8 assists,
4 steals, 0 blocked shots, and only 5 turnovers by Xavier. |
