SLU’s Kellen Thames goes for a short jumper during Wednesday’s NCAA men’s basketball game against Saint Joseph’s. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Joseph’s (8-6, 0-1) | 40 | 39 | 79 |
| SLU (13-1, 1-0) | 49 | 53 | 102 |
ST. LOUIS, MO — The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team earned its seventh straight win — all by at least 10 points or more — on Wednesday, when it defeated Saint Joseph’s, 102-79, in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Chaifetz Arena.
Five different Saint Louis players scored in double figures, as the Billikens set one offensive record and tied another in the final game of 2025, in front of a raucous crowd of 9,218.
SLU improved to 13-1 on the season, the team’s best start since the 1993-94 team won all of its first 14 games. Along with stretching its overall winning streak to seven games, the Billikens extended their Chaifetz Arena home winning streak to 14 — extending a school record.
SLU’s Ishan Sharma grabs a rebound during the Billikens’ game against Saint Joseph’s, Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
The offensive outburst was fueled largely by 3-point shooting. SLU buried a school-record 19 treys (19-of-32, 59.4 percent), most by an A-10 team in any game this season. The long-range performance was part of SLU’s 38-of-60 (63.3 percent) overall shooting.
The 102 points match the school record for points in an A-10 game. The Billikens extended school marks by scoring 100 or more points for a sixth time in a season and by scoring 85 or more points for a seventh consecutive game.
SLU center Robbie Avila scored 20 points and had eight assists in the Billikens’ win over SJU on Wednesday. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
Big man Robbie Avila led the way for the Billikens. The 6-foot-10, 240-pounder scored 20 points and dished out a career- and game-high eight assists. Avila also banged home four of SLU’s 19 three-pointers.
Quentin Jones had 17 points, including three three-pointers, while teammate Ishan Sharma came off the bench to score 16 points, with five three’s.
Trey Green scored 12 points, all on three-pointers (4-of-5), and Brady Dunlap added 10 points and also grabbed six rebounds, with four assists.
SLU’s Kellen Thames looks for someone to pass to during the first half of the Billikens’ game against Saint Joseph’s, Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
The first half featured 13 lead changes in the first eight minutes. A Jones 3-pointer put Saint Louis in front to stay, 22-20, at the 12:07 mark.
The margin hovered between two and seven points until Dion Brown’s layup in the final seconds of the first half put the Billikens on top 49-40 heading into the half.
SLU took control quickly in the second half. The Billikens connected from the arc on their first two possessions, the second a triple by Dunlap that put the lead in double digits for good, 55-43.
SLU gradually pulled away from there. Green’s 3-pointer with 15:03 remaining gave the Billikens their first 20-point cushion, 69-49, and the lead swelled to 28 prior to the final 23-point spread.
The Billikens’ next game features the top two teams in the A-10 preseason poll, as SLU will take on league preseason favorite, VCU, which edged Saint Louis in the preseason voting by one point.
The Billikens and Rams will clash on Wednesday, January 7, at VCU’s Siegel Center in Richmond, Va. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
SAINT JOSEPH’S 79
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Glover-Toscano,Jaiden | * | 34 | 7-13 | 4-5 | 5-7 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| 05 | Finkley,Anthony | * | 29 | 2-8 | 2-6 | 6-6 | 2-1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 00 | Simpson,Derek | * | 27 | 5-11 | 1-4 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 07 | Haskins,Dasear | * | 27 | 5-11 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 3-6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 22 | Ajogbor,Justice | * | 21 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 3-2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 03 | Myers,Khaafiq | 28 | 5-12 | 0-3 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 13 | Williford,Austin | 18 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 21 | Amadou,Al | 11 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Smith,Jaden | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 26-62 | 9-25 | 18-24 | 14-18 | 32 | 12 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 79 |
SLU 102
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 24 | 7-13 | 4-8 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 01 | Jones, Quentin | * | 28 | 6-9 | 3-4 | 2-4 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 03 | Green, Trey | * | 21 | 4-5 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 13 | Brown, Dion | * | 24 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | * | 19 | 1-5 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 09 | Sharma, Ishan | 22 | 5-8 | 5-8 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 11 | Dunlap, Brady | 24 | 4-6 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 19 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 25 | Otieno, Paul | 19 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 38-60 | 19-32 | 7-11 | 7-25 | 32 | 18 | 25 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 102 |
2025-26 SLU BILLIKENS MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2025 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | SEMO | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 92-67 (1-0) |
| November 6, 2025 (Thursday) | 7 pm | Home | Chicago State | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 108-86 (2-0) |
| November 10, 2025 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | Lindenwood | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 109-66 (3-0) |
| November 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Grand Canyon | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 78-64 (4-0) |
| November 21, 2025 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Purdue-Fort Wayne | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 91-60 (5-0) |
| November 27, 2025 (Thursday) | 6 pm | Neutral | Santa Clara | Palm Desert, Calif. |  | W, 71-70 (6-0) |
| November 28, 2025 (Friday) | TBA | Neutral | Minnesota or Stanford | Palm Desert, Calif. |  | L, 78-77 (6-1) |
| December 2, 2025 (Tuesday) | 9 pm | Away | Loyola Marymount | Los Angeles, Calif. | | W, 91-70 (7-1) |
| December 7, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Central Michigan | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 107-65 (8-1) |
| December 13, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | San Francisco | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 85-75 (9-1) |
| December 17, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Bethune-Cookman | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 112-53 (10-1) |
| December 21, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | New Hampshire | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 93-79 (11-1)) |
| December 28, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Principia | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 114-33 (12-1) |
| December 31, 2025 (Wednesday) | 3 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 102-79 (13-1) |
| January 7, 2026 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Away | VCU | Richmond, Va. | | |
| January 10, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | La Salle | Philadelphia, Pa. |  | |
| January 14, 2026 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Fordham | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| January 17, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| January 20, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. | | |
| January 23, 2026 (Friday) | 4:30 pm | Away | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. |  | |
| January 27, 2026 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| January 30, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| February 3, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Away | Davidson | Davidson, N.C. | | |
| February 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | La Salle | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| February 13, 2026 (Friday) | 7:30 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. | | |
| February 17, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. | | |
| February 20, 2026 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| February 24, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | | |
| February 28, 2026 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Duquesne | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| March 4, 2026 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| March 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. | | |
| March 11-15, 2026 | TBD | Neutral | TBD | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
What a fun night on New Year’s Eve!!!
Great win for SLU!!!
Great win for the Billikens! Hot shooting all night!!!