SLU’s Terrence Hargrove, Jr. pulls down a rebound against two defenders during the Billiken’s NCAA men’s basketball game against Hofstra on Saturday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hofstra (6-3) | 31 | 37 | 68 |
| Saint Louis University (6-5) | 29 | 42 | 71 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — After beginning December with a pair of rough road losses, the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team picked up a much needed home win, Saturday afternoon, when it held off red-hot Hofstra for a 71-68 win at Chaifetz Arena.
The Billikens had lost three straight games and five of their previous six, before coming home for Saturday’s win.
“We won a really good game today,” SLU head coach Travis Ford said. “That might have been the best team we’ve played because of their offensive firepower. We’ve had nights we couldn’t defend me, coach (Corey) Tate, my wife and everybody else. We defended and showed some physicality and backbone.”
That backbone was especially necessary in the final six minutes, when the lead changed hands nine different times.
Hofstra led at halftime and for most of the first eight minutes of the second half, before Saint Louis took its first lead on a three-point play by junior guard Tim Dalger with 12:06 left in the game. Hofstra took the lead back with nine minutes to go. At that point, the score was 53-50 Pride.
The back and forth, final-minute battle featured a pair of huge three-pointers by Dalger, another three by Gibson Jimerson, and a crowd-raising putback dunk by Terrence Hargrove, Jr, which gave Saint Louis the lead for good with 53 seconds left.
Hofstra had three different chances to tie the score or take the lead in the final minute, but each was thwarted by terrific defense by the Billikens. Hargrove made two steals and deflected a pass on the final play that kept the Pride from even getting off a final shot.
Hofstra sharp-shooter Tyler Thomas had a game-high 29 points and made several incredible shots for his team. As good as he was though, SLU’s defense was easier to set up knowing he was going to get the ball at the end.
“He’s a really good player, very tough to guard,” Hargrove said. “But it does help knowing they were going to him on those final plays. I had made a bad mistake on a play earlier and it led to an easy basket for them. I knew I had to make up for it. So I just told myself, ‘don’t let him have the ball’. And that’s what we did at the end.”
Denying Thomas the ball, allowed the Billikens to run out the clock and pick up a win Ford was happy to have.
“I’ve talked a lot about mentality of when things get tough,” Ford said. “That’s when you have to rally around each other more. It’s easy to listen to the negativity, but that’s a losing mentality. These guys hear the negativity, but within our confines we understand why certain things are happening. I told them don’t buy into the negativity. It’s people who don’t have anything better (to do).”
Jimerson led Saint Louis with 21 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Dalger had 20 points and five assists, and Hargrove added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Saturday’s victory was just one win, but it felt like more than one after SLU had just lost a game where it nearly pulled off a similar comeback against Drake.
“The last game showed us how good we can be,” Hargrove said. “We brought the same energy from Drake to this game. I tell the guys all the time, ‘Play for your brother.’ That’s who’s going to have your back through hard times.”
SLU will be back in action next Saturday, December 16, when they’ll host another non-conference game. This time, against Louisiana Tech.
That matchup is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.
Hofstra 68
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Thomas,Tyler | * | 40 | 10-25 | 3-12 | 6-6 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 29 |
| 01 | Dubar,Darlinstone | * | 31 | 5-11 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 4-7 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| 05 | Carlos,Jaquan | * | 36 | 3-6 | 1-3 | 4-4 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 02 | Washington,Bryce | * | 28 | 2-6 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 11 | Fritz,Jacco | * | 13 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Sunday,Silas | 27 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 03 | Farmer,Khalil | 12 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 12 | Barrouk,Griffin | 9 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 00 | Robinson,KiJan | 4 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6-1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 24-57 | 7-25 | 13-14 | 12-23 | 35 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 68 |
Saint Louis University 71
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 38 | 6-16 | 5-11 | 4-6 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 05 | Dalger, Tim | * | 35 | 7-15 | 3-8 | 3-5 | 3-2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr., Terrence | * | 33 | 7-10 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 19 |
| 01 | Medley, Cian | * | 35 | 1-4 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-8 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | Zhang, Bruce | * | 17 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 25 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 04 | Curcic, Djordje | 15 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 15 | van Bussel, Stef | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 24-53 | 13-29 | 10-15 | 9-22 | 31 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 71 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 16, 2023 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Louisiana Tech | Chaifetz Arena | BSMW EXTRA & ESPN+ | KMOX 1120AM |
| December 20, 2023 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Away | NC State | Raleigh, N.C. (PNC Arena) | KMOX 1120AM | |
| January 3, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 6, 2024 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Away | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. (EagleBank Arena) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 10, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 16, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio (UD Arena) | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 19, 2024 (Friday) | 6 pm | Away | VCU | Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center) | ESPN2 | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 24, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Davidson | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Massachusetts | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 30, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 3, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Home | Fordham | Chaifetz Arena | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 7, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5:30 pm | Away | La Salle | Philadelphia, Pa. (Gola Arena) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 16, 2024 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | ESPN2 | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 20, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. (UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. (Ryan Center) | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. (Reilly Center) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 12-17 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament | TBA | Neutral | TBA | Brooklyn, N.Y. (Barclay’s Center) |