SLU big man Robbie Avila looks for someone to pass to, while UMass’s xxx defends during Tuesday’s NCAA men’s basketball game in Amherst, Mass. (Photo courtesy: UMassLive.com)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
AMHERST, MA — The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team pulled off an incredible comeback against Massachusetts, in an Atlantic 10 Conference game, Tuesday night at the Mullins Center.
Saint Louis trailed by five points with 49 seconds left, but managed to reel off seven unanswered points in the game’s final seconds to earn itself a 73-71 win.
SLU senior Isaiah Swope made a layup with 37 seconds remaining to pull the Billikens to within 71-68. Then after a missed UMass free throw, junior Kalu Anya added another to make the score 71-70.
That set up a wild set of plays that helped the Billikens take the lead.
First, freshman Amari McCottry, who was playing in place of preseason all-conference selection Robbie Avila, who had fouled out, stole UMass’s inbounds pass and worked the ball to Swope, who was open for a three-pointer that could’ve give SLU the lead. But he missed it.
There was a battle on the floor for the rebound, which went to McCottry again, who found Swope again, and this time the Newburgh, Ind., native drilled it to put Saint Louis ahead with 9 seconds left.
On the game’s final play, Anya blocked Daniel Rivera’s shot as time expired to preserve the Saint Louis win.
SLU’s Kalu Anya defends UMass’s Shahid Muhammad during Tuesday’s NCAA men’s basketball game at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. (Photo courtesy: UMass Live)
SLU is now 14-9 on the season and 7-3 in Atlantic 10 play. UMass is 10-13, with a 5-5 conference record.
The Billikens are in third place in the A-10 standings, while the Minutemen fell to sixth.
SLU will be back in action on Friday, when it travels to Philadelphia to take on Saint Joseph’s at Hagan Arena. Tip off is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
SLU 73
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Swope, Isaiah | * | 38 | 8-18 | 4-13 | 0-1 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 20 |
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 40 | 6-15 | 2-7 | 4-4 | 2-3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 08 | Johnson, Kobe | * | 32 | 4-7 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 06 | Anya, Kalu | * | 32 | 4-5 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 23 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | 18 | 3-5 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 33 | Warlick, Dylan | 12 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 14 | Brockhoff, Kilian | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 35 | Pikaar, Max | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 28-57 | 10-29 | 7-11 | 11-27 | 38 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 73 |
UMass 71
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Curry,Jaylen | * | 31 | 6-15 | 3-6 | 1-6 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 05 | Rivera,Daniel | * | 34 | 5-14 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 9-5 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| 11 | Ndjigue,Jayden | * | 36 | 4-10 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 07 | Diggins,Rahsool | * | 36 | 2-15 | 1-10 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 25 | Abdelgowad,Malek | * | 6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 01 | Hankins-Sanford,Daniel | 27 | 6-8 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3-4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | |
| 23 | Watson,Akil | 6 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 03 | Worthy,Marqui | 14 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 04 | Muhammad,Shahid | 10 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 27-73 | 6-24 | 11-18 | 21-20 | 41 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 71 |
2024-25 SLU BILLIKENS MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV/Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 4, 2024 (Monday) | 2 pm | Neutral | Santa Clara | Sioux Falls, S.D. | L 85-78 (0-1) |
| November 10, 2024 (Sunday) | 3 pm | Home | Avila | Chaifetz Arena | W 95-44 (1-1) |
| November 16, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Loyola Marymount | Chaifetz Arena | W 77-71 (2-1) |
| November 22, 2024 (Friday) | 9:30 pm | Neutral | Wichita State | Kansas City, Mo. (T-Mobile Center) | L 88-63 (2-2) |
| November 25, 2024 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | Quinnipiac | Chaifetz Arena | W 81-67 (3-2) |
| November 27, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | UMass Lowell | Chaifetz Arena | W 93-90 (4-2) |
| December 2, 2024 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | Jackson State | Chaifetz Arena | W 74-66 (5-2) |
| December 5, 2024 (Thursday) | 9 pm | Away | San Francisco | San Francisco, Calif. (War Memorial) | L 78-61 (5-3) |
| December 8, 2024 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Chicago State | Chaifetz Arena | W 85-62 (6-3) |
| December 15, 2024 (Sunday) | 4 pm | Away | Illinois State | Normal, Ill. (CEFCU Arena) | L 81-77 (6-4) |
| December 18, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Wofford | Chaifetz Arena | L 74-71 (6-5) |
| December 22, 2024 (Sunday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Grand Canyon | Phoenix, Ariz. (Global Credit Union Arena) | L73-72 (6-6) |
| December 28, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | William Woods | Chaifetz Arena | W 78-57 (7-6) |
| December 31, 2024 (Tuesday) | 1 pm | Away | Fordham | New York, N.Y. (Rose Hill Gym) | W 88-63 (8-6) |
| January 3, 2025 (Friday) | 8 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena | W 73-57 (9-6) |
| January 8, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | St. Bonaventure | Chaifetz Arena | W 73-68 (10-6) |
| January 14, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | VCU | Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center) | L 78-62 (10-7) |
| January 18, 2025 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Away | Richmond | Richmond, Va. (Robins Center) | W 63-59 (11-7) |
| January 22, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | La Salle | Chaifetz Arena | W 64-52 (12-7) |
| January 25, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Away | George Washington | Washington, D.C (Smith Center) | L 67-61 (12-8) |
| January 28, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | W 78-69 (13-8) |
| January 31, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | L 71-63 (13-9) |
| February 4, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) | W 73-71 (14-9) |
| February 7, 2025 (Friday) | 8 pm | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena) |  |
| February 11, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | George Mason | Chaifetz Arena |  |
| February 14, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) |  |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Home | Rhode Island | Chaifetz Arena | USA Network |
| February 25, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Davidson | Davidson, N.C. (Belk Arena) | |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | CBS Sports Network |
| March 4, 2025 (Tuesday) | TBA | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio (UD Arena) | |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Duquesne | Chaifetz Arena | |
| March 12-16 | TBA | Neutral | Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament | Washington, D.C. (Capital One Arena) |