SLU’s Robbie Avila suffered an ankle injury in the Billikens’ season-opening loss to Santa Clara on Monday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLU (0-1) | 41 | 37 | 78 |
| Santa Clara (1-0) | 48 | 37 | 85 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
SIOUX FALLS, SD — The new NCAA men’s college basketball season began with a loss and some unfortunate injury news for the Saint Louis University men’s team.
The Billikens lost their season opener, 85-78, to Santa Clara and while doing so, also lost starting center Robbie Avila, who suffered what looked like a bad ankle injury during the second half.
It was the second time in a month that Avila sprained his right ankle. The senior had missed some preseason practice time to rehab the injury and was forced to leave Monday’s game and not return.
“It doesn’t look great,” new SLU head coach Josh Schertz said, in a postgame ZOOM interview with the media. “We’ll get back and get him evaluated, but it seems pretty similar to the first time, same ankle, same situation. He’s obviously pretty distressed. It’s been a tough fall for him. He’s missed a chunk of time with his back, got back, and then sprained the ankle and was really playing well.
“Your heart breaks for him because he loves to play basketball, he’s all about the right things. Just a fluke play under the basket. We’ll get back, get him evaluated and go from there. There’s a chance we’ll be without him for a period of time. We’ve got a lot of games to play and we got to figure it out without him until he’s back.”
Avila returned to the Billiken bench for the final minutes of the game, but he was wearing only one shoe and he had a large ice bag wrapped around his right ankle.
In the game, Saint Louis trailed Santa Clara throughout, but pulled to within three points with two minutes left, and even had chances to possibly tie the game.
Unfortunately though, the Billikens couldn’t make any of the shots that could’ve tied the game, which allowed the Broncos to pull away and cinch the victory.
“We had some chances, but we didn’t execute,” Schertz said. “I was proud of how we battled, but we’ve got to do things better. We’ll be working on a lot of stuff.”
Before he left the game, Avila was having a typical all-around dynamite performance. He had scored 16 points, dished out five assists, and grabbed five rebounds. SLU’s other transfer from Indiana State, Isaiah Swope, tried to make up for Avila’s absence by making several big shots.
Swope finished with 24 points (18 in the second half) and had five assists, before he fouled out in the game’s final minute. SLU returnees Gibson Jimerson and Kellen Thames also had 16 points, while Brown University transfer Kalu Anya scored six points, blocked a shot, made two steals, and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Santa Clara led by nine, 50-41, early in the second half before Swope knocked down three consecutive 3’s to get Saint Louis back into the game. Jimerson hit a 3 with 12:50 remaining to pull the Billikens within one (62-61), but the Broncos responded with an 11-2 run to put them back in control and gave Santa Clara its largest lead of the game (77-65) with 6:14 left.
SLU didn’t quit though. The Billikens went on an 8-0 run of their own, sparked by an NBA-range 3 by Swope that made the score 77-73 with just over four minutes remaining.
Swope hit another 3 with 2:36 left that made it 81-78, but that was as close as SLU would get, as Santa Clara made its free throws and forced two key turnovers in the final minutes to clinch the win.
SLU will be back in action on Sunday, when it hosts its home opener against Avila University. Opening tip at Chaifetz Arena that day is set for 3 p.m.
SLU 78
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Swope, Isaiah | * | 38 | 8-20 | 6-14 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 40 | 6-12 | 3-8 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | * | 31 | 6-9 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 1-6 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 29 | 6-10 | 1-4 | 3-4 | 1-4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
| 06 | Anya, Kalu | * | 32 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4-7 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 02 | Hughes II, Larry | 19 | 0-5 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 23 | Casey, AJ | 6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | Dotzler, Josiah | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 29-61 | 12-34 | 8-10 | 9-26 | 35 | 19 | 13 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 78 |
Santa Clara 85
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | Bal,Adama | * | 34 | 7-13 | 3-7 | 7-8 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| 13 | Tilly,Christoph | * | 22 | 6-7 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 5-3 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 01 | Bryan,Tyeree | * | 31 | 4-9 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 10 | Stewart,Carlos | * | 26 | 0-8 | 0-4 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | O’Neil,Johnny | * | 16 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Tongue,Camaron | 17 | 6-11 | 1-2 | 5-5 | 4-3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | |
| 08 | Mahi,Elijah | 15 | 4-7 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 00 | Knapper,Brenton | 14 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 44 | Ensminger,Jake | 24 | 0-5 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Oboye,Bukky | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 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 | 28-66 | 12-35 | 17-20 | 15-22 | 37 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 85 |
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 |  | ||
| November 16, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Loyola Marymount | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| November 22, 2024 (Friday) | 9:30 pm | Neutral | Wichita State | Kansas City, Mo. (T-Mobile Center) | Peacock | ||
| November 25, 2024 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | Quinnipiac | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| November 27, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | UMass Lowell | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| December 2, 2024 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | Jackson State | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| December 5, 2024 (Thursday) | 9 pm | Away | San Francisco | San Francisco, Calif. (War Memorial) | | ||
| December 8, 2024 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Chicago State | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| December 15, 2024 (Sunday) | 4 pm | Away | Illinois State | Normal, Ill. (CEFCU Arena) | | ||
| December 18, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Wofford | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| December 22, 2024 (Sunday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Grand Canyon | Phoenix, Ariz. (Global Credit Union Arena) | | ||
| December 28, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | William Woods | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| December 31, 2024 (Tuesday) | 1 pm | Away | Fordham | New York, N.Y. (Rose Hill Gym) | | ||
| January 3, 2025 (Friday) | 8 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena |  | ||
| January 8, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | St. Bonaventure | Chaifetz Arena | Peacock | ||
| January 14, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | VCU | Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center) | | ||
| January 18, 2025 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Away | Richmond | Richmond, Va. (Robins Center) | USA Network | ||
| January 22, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | La Salle | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| January 25, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Away | George Washington | Washington, D.C (Smith Center) | | ||
| January 28, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | CBS Sports Network | ||
| January 31, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | | ||
| February 4, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) | | ||
| February 7, 2025 (Friday) | 8 pm | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena) | ESPN Networks | ||
| 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) |