SLU’s Michael Meadows makes a move with the ball against Utah State’s Darius Brown during Tuesday’s men’s basketball game at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah State (6-1) | 43 | 38 | 81 |
| SLU (5-3) | 35 | 41 | 76 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — Even after watching its opponent shoot a blazing 58 percent in the first half and lead by as many as 20 points in the second, the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team rallied to get within five points with just under two minutes remaining and within three points with 18 seconds left.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Billikens would get, as visiting Utah State made its final free throws and held on for an 81-76 win.
“What we prepared for for two days and what we were afraid could happen, we did not do a very good job against it,” SLU head coach Travis Ford said. “It’s kind of the same song and dance… Below the three-point line, we’re just not very competitive.”
Ford tried a number of different defensive options down low, but none of them seemed to work, as Utah State scored 52 points in the paint and outrebounded Saint Louis 35-25.
Utah State forward Great Osobor, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound banger, controlled every aspect of the paint throughout the night and finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Seven-foot teammate Isaac Johnson had 16 points and even hit two three-pointers, as the Aggies took control of the game early and built a 20-point second half lead.
Saint Louis countered with its own big men, 7-foot Bruce Zhang and 6-10 Stef van Bussel, but neither of the Billikens’ freshmen could do much against the combo of Osobor and Johnson.
“We know what our issues are,” Ford said. “We’ve tried some things to try to camouflage it, (maybe) correct it, game plan for it. But we just couldn’t physically do it.”
Utah State grabbed its biggest lead at 60-40, following an offensive rebound and layup by Osobor with 12:39 left in the game. A frustrated Ford called timeout to try to reset what his Billikens were doing.
And whatever changes he made, worked. SLU went on a 16-6 run following that timeout to pull back to within 66-56 with 8:12 left. Then after the teams traded baskets for a while, SLU went on an 11-0 run to make the score 76-71 with 1:44 left.
The Billikens were playing were a smaller group that forced several Utah State turnovers and knocked down a few three-pointers to get themselves back into the game.
Brown hit a key three-pointer with the shot clock running down to put the Aggies back up 79-71, but the Billikens still weren’t done.
Senior Mike Meadows made a driving layup on SLU’s next possession, then after a Utah State miss, Terrence Hargrove made a short jumper and got fouled. He then made the free throw, for a three-point play that cut SLU’s deficit to 79-76 with 18 seconds left.
Saint Louis needed just one more stop to give itself a chance to possibly tie the score. Unfortunately, Brown drew a foul and made both free throws with 10 seconds left to put the game away.
“Whatever it takes, we need to figure it out,” Ford said.
On the positive side, Meadows finished with his best scoring night of the season. He had 18 points and four assists. Hargrove added 14 points and four rebounds, while redshirt junior Gibson Jimerson led Saint Louis with 28 points, which included three three-pointers and a seven-for-seven night at the free throw line.
The Billikens are now 5-3 on the year and will face a new test, with two straight road games. SLU will play at Southern Illinois on Saturday, December 2, and at Drake, next Wednesday, December 6, before returning to Chaifetz Arena for its next home game on December 9 against Hofstra.
“We’ve got stuff to work on and stuff we need to get better at,” Ford said. “It’s not even about being physically strong. I want to see us be tougher mentally and battle harder.”
Utah St. 81
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Osobor,Great | * | 36 | 11-15 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 6-7 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| 20 | Johnson,Isaac | * | 21 | 7-9 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| 12 | Falslev,Mason | * | 32 | 5-8 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 04 | Martinez,Ian | * | 32 | 4-8 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 10 | Brown II,Darius | * | 37 | 2-7 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 14 | Uduje,Josh | 16 | 3-6 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 23 | Agbonkpolo,Max | 23 | 2-7 | 0-4 | 1-2 | 2-4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 24 | Templin,Karson | 3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 35-61 | 6-23 | 5-10 | 12-23 | 35 | 12 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 81 |
Saint Louis University 76
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 37 | 9-15 | 3-8 | 7-7 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 28 |
| 07 | Meadows Jr., Michael | * | 32 | 7-11 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr., Terrence | * | 28 | 5-14 | 2-6 | 2-3 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| 02 | Hughes II, Larry | * | 23 | 2-8 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 05 | Dalger, Tim | * | 17 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 28 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 15 | van Bussel, Stef | 6 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 12 | Zhang, Bruce | 13 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 01 | Medley, Cian | 10 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 04 | Curcic, Djordje | 6 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 27-57 | 10-24 | 12-13 | 7-18 | 25 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 76 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |