SLU sophomore Kellen Thames dunks one home during Saturday night’s NCAA basketball game against Dartmouth at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth (1-3) | 30 | 35 | 65 |
| Saint Louis University (5-2) | 41 | 25 | 66 |
Jason Barnes
Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS, MO — The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team led for almost the entire second half in Saturday’s game at Chaifetz Arena against visiting Dartmouth.
And it took every bit of that lead to hold off the Big Green, as Saint Louis pulled off a 66-65 win in front of a loud Thanksgiving weekend crowd of 4,523.
“Glad we got a win,” SLU head coach Travis Ford said. “I give Dartmouth a lot of credit. I thought they played extremely well. Never gave up. They kept fighting till the end and made a lot of good plays in the second half. I wasn’t overly shocked. We didn’t have a great week of practice, for certain reasons. But we’ve got regroup a little bit and play better. There’s a lot of things on both ends of the court (that) we’re not doing well. And I’ve gotta do a better job of helping these guys do (better).”
Saint Louis led by 11 points at halftime, thanks to a three-point play layup and free throw by Terrence Hargrove. But Dartmouth was able to dwindle that lead down to one point, following a 12-2 run to begin the second half.
Then, after a pair of free throws, the Big Green was able to take the lead at 44-43 with 15:23 to go in the game. SLU took the lead back on its next possession, with a three-pointer by Hargrove. But once again, Dartmouth answered with a three of its own to re-take the lead at 47-46 with 14.26 to go.
That was the Big Green’s last lead, as SLU responded with an 11-2 run to go ahead 57-49 with eight minutes to go.
“I wasn’t happy with a lot about tonight, but I was happy with how we responded there,” Ford said. “We’d been falling into a bad habit of taking bad shots, which leads to bad defense because you can’t get back and get set up. And we had been doing that a lot lately. But we were better in that sequence and you could see the difference. Everything is better when we work to take good shots.”
SLU made just four more shots the rest of the game and that almost cost them, as Dartmouth put on a strong rally in the final minutes.
The Big Green cut the Billiken lead to just one point with 44 seconds to go and had three chances to win the game in the final nine seconds, but they missed three shots before SLU’s Larry Hughes II secured the final rebound with less than a second remaining.
“We’ve gotta find some toughness,” Ford said. “We got length and athleticism and things like that, but we’ve got to find some defensive toughness. That’s been lacking a little bit lately. We’ve been doing some really good positive things. We’re just doing too many negative things… and we’ve got to buckle down a little bit and correct some things right now.”
Three different Billiken players scored in double-figures, led by redshirt junior guard Gibson Jimerson, who had 23 points. Hargrove scored 17 points and had six rebounds, and Mike Meadows added 12 points. Tim Dalger had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds also.
Dartmouth’s Dusan Neskovic had 24 points, while native St. Louis Brandon Mitchell-Day added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Big Green.
SLU will have a quick turnaround for its next game. The Billikens will host Utah State on Tuesday, November 28, at Chaifetz Arena. That contest will tip off at 7 p.m.
Dartmouth 65
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Neskovic,Dusan | * | 39 | 8-20 | 3-11 | 5-6 | 2-5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 24 |
| 21 | Mitchell-Day,Brandon | * | 33 | 6-8 | 0-1 | 5-6 | 2-8 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
| 22 | Williams,Jayden | * | 34 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 3-4 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 33 | Munro,Jackson | * | 29 | 4-13 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 05 | Johnson,Jaren | * | 32 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Myrthil,Romeo | 22 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10 | Cornish,Ryan | 6 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Christensen,Connor | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 00 | Brown,Ben | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 23 | McRae III,Robert | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-53 | 6-26 | 13-17 | 7-29 | 36 | 19 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 65 |
Saint Louis University 66
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 38 | 6-18 | 1-5 | 10-11 | 2-3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr., Terrence | * | 34 | 7-12 | 1-1 | 2-3 | 1-5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 07 | Meadows Jr., Michael | * | 37 | 4-7 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 05 | Dalger, Tim | * | 28 | 4-11 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 3-5 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 02 | Hughes II, Larry | * | 32 | 1-7 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 10 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 01 | Medley, Cian | 13 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Zhang, Bruce | 6 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 04 | Curcic, Djordje | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-60 | 4-15 | 16-21 | 9-25 | 34 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 66 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 28, 2023 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | Utah State | Chaifetz Arena | BSMW EXTRA & ESPN+ | KMOX 1120AM |
| December 2, 2023 (Saturday) | 2:30 pm | Away | Southern Illinois | Carbondale, Ill. (Banterra Center) | KMOX 1120AM | |
| December 6, 2023 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Away | Drake | Des Moines, Iowa (Knapp Center) | KMOX 1120AM | |
| December 9, 2023 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | Hofstra | Chaifetz Arena | BSMW & ESPN+ | 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 | BSMW & ESPN+ | 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 | BSMW & ESPN+ | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Massachusetts | Chaifetz Arena | BSMW & ESPN+ | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 30, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) | BSMW & ESPN+ | 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) | BSMW & ESPN+ | 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) | BSMW & ESPN+ | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | BSMW & ESPN+ | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | BSMW & ESPN+ | 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) |