SLU’s Robbie Avila looks for someone to pass to in the Billikens’ Atlantic 10 Conference game against La Salle at Chaifetz Arena on Wednesday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Salle (10-9, 2-4) | 25 | 27 | 52 |
| SLU (12-7, 5-1) | 31 | 33 | 64 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — Strong defense and dominant play from its big men led the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team to a 64-52 Atlantic 10 Conference win over La Salle, Wednesday night in a game at Chaifetz Arena.
Center Robbie Avila led four Saint Louis players in double-figure scoring, with a game-high 21 points, while power forward Kalu Anya added 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Billikens, who improved to 12-7 on the season and 5-1 in conference play.
The Billikens are tied with VCU for second place in the A-10 standings, with both teams a half-game behind first place George Mason, which is 6-1.
Kalu Anya scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in SLU’s win over La Salle on Wednesday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
SLU held La Salle (10-9, 2-4) to its lowest point total, lowest overall field goal percentage (.338) and lowest 3-point field goal percentage (.118) of the season. The Explorers missed 20 straight shots during a stretch in the game.
Anya, whose 11 points came on five-of-six shooting, picked up his third double-double of the season. Teammate Gibson Jimerson, who had a rough shooting night (three-of-13 from the field and one-of-nine from three-point land) did score 11 points, while Kobe Johnson tossed in 10 points on five-of-eight shooting.
Avila grabbed eight rebounds as the Billikens earned a 42-35 advantage on the glass, and he collected five assists. Isaiah Swope registered a game-high seven assists and matched his season best of five rebounds.
SLU’s Kobe Johnson battles against a La Salle defender during Wednesday’s A-10 game at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
La Salle led for most of the first half. The Explorers built an eight-point cushion on three occasions, the final time a 21-13 advantage with 7:41 remaining.
Saint Louis tallied 11 of the next 13 points to take its first lead, 24-23, at the 3:08 mark. La Salle briefly regained the upper hand with a bucket, but SLU stretched its run to 18-4 and carried a 31-25 edge into intermission. Six different Billikens scored during the run.
The SLU defense continued to clamp down in the early stages of the second half, holding La Salle to two points over the first nine-plus minutes while the Billikens built a 16-point lead. The margin swelled to 21 points, 58-37, with 5:04 to play before a late La Salle push accounted for the final score.
The Billikens will be on the road this weekend. They’ll be in our nation’s capital, taking on George Washington.
SLU’s next home game is a showdown against VCU, on Tuesday, January 28. Tip off that evening at Chaifetz is set for 7 p.m.
La Salle 52
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Jones,Deuce | * | 33 | 4-13 | 0-2 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 14 | Lilley,Demetrius | * | 25 | 3-8 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 3-4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 02 | McKeithan,Corey | * | 34 | 4-13 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 01 | White,Jahlil | * | 29 | 3-9 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3-5 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 13 | Shepherd,Daeshon | * | 31 | 2-12 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 00 | Marrero,Andres | 5 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 21 | Etienne,Mac | 16 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 34 | Vahlberg Fasasi,Tunde | 14 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 03 | Acker,Eric | 13 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 22-65 | 2-17 | 6-8 | 12-23 | 35 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 52 |
SLU 64
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 32 | 8-16 | 3-8 | 2-2 | 1-7 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 21 |
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 40 | 3-13 | 1-9 | 4-4 | 2-3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 06 | Anya, Kalu | * | 30 | 5-6 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 4-9 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 08 | Johnson, Kobe | * | 34 | 5-8 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 01 | Swope, Isaiah | * | 36 | 2-11 | 2-10 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 14 | Brockhoff, Kilian | 5 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 33 | Warlick, Dylan | 15 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 8 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | 0+ | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 25-59 | 7-33 | 7-8 | 11-31 | 42 | 10 | 16 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 64 |
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) | L73-72 (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) |  |
| January 28, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | CBS Sports Network |
| January 31, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena |  |
| February 4, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) | |
| February 7, 2025 (Friday) | 8 pm | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena) | ESPN Networks |
| February 11, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | George Mason | Chaifetz Arena | |
| February 14, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) | |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Home | Rhode Island | Chaifetz Arena | USA Network |
| February 25, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Davidson | Davidson, N.C. (Belk Arena) | |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | CBS Sports Network |
| March 4, 2025 (Tuesday) | TBA | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio (UD Arena) | |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Duquesne | Chaifetz Arena | |
| March 12-16 | TBA | Neutral | Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament | Washington, D.C. (Capital One Arena) |