SLU’s Isaiah Swope, who scored 28 points, fires up a shot during Tuesday’s Atlantic 10 Conference game against Dayton. (Photo courtesy: SLU Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLU (17-13, 10-7) | 41 | 26 | 67 |
| Dayton (21-9, 11-6) | 28 | 47 | 75 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
DAYTON, OH — The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team led by as many as 15 points in the first half and 14 points in the second half, but couldn’t hold either lead and lost, 75-67, in a key Atlantic 10 Conference game against Dayton at that school’s UD Arena on Tuesday evening.
The win moved Dayton into sole possession of third place in the Atlantic 10 league standings, while Saint Louis fell to sixth place.
The Billikens now need to win their regular season finale on Saturday against Duquesne and hope from a little extra help from around the league to have any shot at making it into fourth place and possibly receiving a double-bye in next week’s conference tournament.
SLU can’t finish any worse than sixth, but moving into fourth and earning a double-bye would give the Billikens an extra day off in what figures to be a tough A-10 Tournament.
The top two spots are locked up by VCU and George Mason. Dayton gave itself an inside track at earning a top four spot with its win over SLU. Loyola Chicago and Saint Joseph’s are currently tied for fourth.
Saint Louis would need a win on Saturday and losses by both Loyola and SJU in both of their final games to ensure it makes it into the double bye.
It was a tale of two halves offensively for the Billikens. They shot better than 50 percent from the field and from 3 in the first half, but shot just 33.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from the arc in the second.
Meanwhile, Dayton shot 50 percent in the second half and drained six treys to complete the comeback. Five players scored in double figures for the Flyers, led by Enoch Cheeks’ 17 points.
After Dayton rallied to tie the score at 53-53, the Billikens responded with five straight points. But the Flyers got back into the game with a game-deciding 15-2 push. A Jimerson trey pulled SLU to within six with under 30 seconds left, but Dayton made its free throws on the other end to secure the win.
The Billikens pumped in eight of their 12 3-pointers in the first half alone to take a 13-point lead into halftime at 41-28. Jimerson had five triples in the first half.
Isaiah Swope led Saint Louis with 28 points, including a run of 11 straight points in one point in the first half to break a 17-17 tie and give SLU the double-digit cushion.
Gibson Jimerson had 23 points, including seven three pointers, and Robbie Avila added 10 points.
Saturday’s regular season finale against Duquesne will tip off at 7 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena and will be televised live on FanDuel Sports Midwest.
SLU 67
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Swope,Isaiah | * | 35 | 11-17 | 5-8 | 1-1 | 0-5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 |
| 24 | Jimerson,Gibson | * | 40 | 8-18 | 7-15 | 0-0 | 0-8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| 21 | Avila,Robbie | * | 38 | 4-11 | 0-4 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 06 | Anya,Kalu | * | 27 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 08 | Johnson,Kobe | * | 34 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 04 | McCottry,Amari | 16 | 2-8 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | |
| 33 | Warlick,Dylan | 7 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 14 | Brockhoff,Kilian | 3 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | 3-1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 26-62 | 12-32 | 3-3 | 6-22 | 28 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 67 |
Dayton 75
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06 | Cheeks,Enoch | * | 38 | 7-14 | 3-5 | 0-2 | 2-7 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| 02 | Santos,Nate | * | 36 | 4-9 | 1-3 | 4-5 | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| 00 | Bennett,Javon | * | 33 | 4-9 | 1-5 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 29 | L’Etang,Amael | * | 20 | 4-5 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 11 | Smith,Malachi | * | 22 | 3-9 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 23 | Key,Zed | 20 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 2-5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| 05 | Alexander,Posh | 13 | 1-5 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 24 | Conner,Jacob | 12 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 03 | Simon,Jaiun | 6 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 27-61 | 10-25 | 11-14 | 13-30 | 43 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 75 |
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) | L 73-72 (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) | L 76-73 (14-10) |
| February 11, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | George Mason | Chaifetz Arena | L 76-74 (14-11) |
| February 14, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) | L 79-68 (14-12) |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Home | Rhode Island | Chaifetz Arena | W 81-66 (15-12) |
| February 25, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Davidson | Davidson, N.C. (Belk Arena) | W 57-56 (16-12) |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | W 98-67 (17-12) |
| March 4, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio (UD Arena) | L 75-67 (17-13) |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Duquesne | Chaifetz Arena | FanDuel Sports Midwest |
| March 12-16 | TBA | Neutral | Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament | Washington, D.C. (Capital One Arena) |