SLU defenders Djordje Curcic and Stef van Bussel attempt to stop a pass from Drake’s Atin Wright during Wednesday’s NCAA men’s basketball game in Des Moines. (Photo courtesy: Drake Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLU (5-5) | 41 | 28 | 69 |
| Drake (8-1) | 25 | 50 | 75 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
DES MOINES, IOWA — Even with a quite shorthanded and banged up team, the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team played one of its most inspired halves of the season on Wednesday, when it built a 16-point first half edge in a game against Drake.
Saint Louis pushed its lead to as many as 19 points early in the second half.
Unfortunately that wasn’t enough, as Drake stormed back to eventually hand SLU another gut-wrenching loss. This time, 75-69, in a game at Drake’s Knapp Center.
“I think it had a lot to do with (fatigue),” SLU head coach Travis Ford said. “We were doing everything we could to change defenses and give guys a break. We totally managed the game the way we wanted in the first half. We had points we wanted to check every minute, and we were right on point.
“In the second half, we couldn’t get a call. We could not get a call. We were getting in the paint and getting raked. And we had bad shots that led to transition and that absolutely killed us — that and their big man went to work on us.”
SLU had just eight available scholarship players and even lost one of them for most of the game when sophomore guard Kellen Thames rolled an ankle and had to sit out most of the second half. Fellow guards Larry Hughes II, Mike Meadows, and Sincere Parker were all out with injuries, forcing Gibson Jimerson to play almost the entire game with an injured ankle of his own.
Even with that, Jimerson scored a team-high 23 points, including four three-pointers to lead the Billikens.
“I kept asking, ‘Are you OK?’ and he said he was fine,” Ford said. “I kept wanting to give him a break, but we needed him on the court. He draws a lot of attention and played a whale of a game. Everybody did.”
Having Jimerson on the floor helped Saint Louis build a 41-25 lead at the half, and it seemed like it might be enough when Tim Dalger, who finished with 14 points, converted a three-point play on the first possession of the second half to put the Billikens up 44-25.
But that’s when Drake began its comeback and went on a 20-4 run, which included 13 straight points, to make the score 48-45. That got the home crowd back into the game with 13:14 left on the clock.
Then a couple minutes later, the Bulldogs tied the score at 51 with a three-point play.
Saint Louis actually went ahead by seven points again after that, but Drake kept coming and took its first lead with a steal and fastbreak layup that made the score 66-65 with 2:25 left in the game.
The Billikens were not able to regain the lead after that. Drake was able to hit two jumpers and four-of-six free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
“We knew they were going to make a run,” Ford said. “But we just couldn’t seem to get the momentum back. We missed key rebounds. It was a good learning experience for the big guys.”
SLU fell to 5-5 on the season, while Drake improved its record to 8-1.
The Billikens will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday, when they’ll host Hofstra for another non-conference game at Chaifetz Arena.
That contest is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m., and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Midwest.
Saint Louis University 69
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Jimerson,Gibson | * | 40 | 6-17 | 4-8 | 7-9 | 1-4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 23 |
| 05 | Dalger,Tim | * | 33 | 4-11 | 0-1 | 6-7 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 12 | Zhang,Bruce | * | 26 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 01 | Medley,Cian | * | 25 | 3-7 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr.,Terrence | * | 35 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1-8 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 00 | Thames,Kellen | 15 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 04 | Curcic,Djordje | 17 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 15 | van Bussel,Stef | 9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-52 | 5-14 | 18-22 | 10-24 | 34 | 22 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 69 |
Drake 75
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Wright, Atin | * | 35 | 5-11 | 2-5 | 10-11 | 2-2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| 01 | Overton, Kevin | * | 36 | 8-13 | 2-6 | 3-5 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| 51 | Brodie, Darnell | * | 33 | 4-9 | 0-0 | 4-6 | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 12 | DeVries, Tucker | * | 38 | 3-12 | 2-7 | 2-2 | 2-8 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 04 | Enright, Conor | * | 19 | 2-6 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 24 | Ferguson, Nate | 7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 03 | Garland, Colby | 17 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Rosario, Carlos | 8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 00 | Gibson, Kyron | 7 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 22-54 | 8-24 | 23-30 | 10-21 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 75 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 9, 2023 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | Hofstra | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| 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) |