SLU point guard Isaiah Swope hit five three-pointers and scored 26 points to lead the Billikens to a win over Davidson on Thursday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson (17-16) | 31 | 44 | 75 |
| Saint Louis (19-13) | 36 | 47 | 83 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
WASHINGTON, DC — The No. 5 seed Saint Louis University men’s basketball team defeated No. 12 seed Davidson, 83-75, Thursday afternoon in a second-round matchup of the 2025 Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Capital One Arena.
Saint Louis (19-13) will advance to tournament quarterfinals, where it will face fourth-seeded Loyola Chicago on Friday. Tip off is set for at 1 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on the USA Network. Davidson’s season ended with the Wildcats finishing with a 17-16 record.
Isaiah Swope and Gibson Jimerson led the way for Saint Louis by scoring with 26 and 25 points, respectively. Jimerson drained six treys, while Swope poured in five 3-pointers.
Robbie Avila added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. He also dished out a game-high seven assists. Amari McCottry provided 19 valuable minutes and finished with a career-high 15 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
Jimerson broke another record on Thursday, surpassing Erwin Claggett’s single-season 3s record of 103 set back in 1994-95. Jimerson is now at 109 3-pointers this season.
The Billikens’ 12 3-pointers are tied for the most they have scored in an A-10 Championship game. SLU’s 83 points were the third-most it has scored in A-10 Championship history.
Saint Louis led by as many as 13 points in the opening half and held a six-point advantage at halftime, but had to come back in the second half as Davidson led by four at 51-47 with just under 11 minutes to go.
SLU engineered an 11-0 run to go back on top, only to see Davidson drain three consecutive 3-pointers to regain the lead.
Swope, who has been the Billikens’ go-to in clutch situations this season, responded with consecutive treys and SLU would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.
After yielding the first basket of the game, the Billikens went on a 13-2 run and led 17-4 at one point for their largest lead of the game. Jimerson and Swope led all scorers with 11 points at halftime as SLU led 36-31 at the break.
SLU and Loyola split their two previous matchups this season. The Billikens won two weeks ago, 98-67, in a game at Chaifetz Arena, while the Ramblers won, 78-69, when the teams played in Chicago back in February.
Davidson 75
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Kochera,Connor | * | 33 | 6-15 | 2-6 | 4-4 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 04 | Loughnane,Mike | * | 28 | 6-8 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 01 | Bailey,Reed | * | 38 | 4-13 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 02 | Durkin,Bobby | * | 36 | 3-10 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 12 | Adam,Hunter | * | 16 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 4-3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 20 | Laput,Zach | 24 | 6-8 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 16 | |
| 45 | Blums,Roberts | 15 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 00 | Joses,Manie | 10 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 29-66 | 11-32 | 6-6 | 9-21 | 30 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 75 |
Saint Louis 83
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Swope, Isaiah | * | 33 | 9-15 | 5-9 | 3-4 | 0-3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 26 |
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 37 | 8-16 | 6-11 | 3-4 | 2-4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 38 | 5-10 | 1-5 | 2-3 | 0-11 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| 06 | Anya, Kalu | * | 33 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 08 | Johnson, Kobe | * | 35 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | 19 | 5-5 | 0-0 | 5-9 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15 | |
| 33 | Warlick, Dylan | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 35 | Pikaar, Max | 1 | 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 | 29-51 | 12-28 | 13-20 | 5-28 | 33 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 83 |
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 | W 90-88 (18-13) |
| March 13, 2025 (Thursday) | 1 pm | Neutral | Davidson | Washington, D.C. (Capital One Arena) | W 83-75 (19-13) |
| March 14, 2025 (Friday) | 1 pm | Neutral | Loyola Chicago | Washington, D.C. (Capital One Arena) |