SLU point guard Quentin Jones brings the ball upcourt during Thursday’s NCAA men’s basketball game against Chicago State. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago State (0-2) | 40 | 46 | 86 |
| SLU (2-0) | 51 | 57 | 108 |
ST. LOUIS, MO — The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team earned its second win of the season, Thursday night, when it defeated Chicago State, 108-86, in a matchup at Chaifetz Arena.
Saint Louis used a 22-0 run midway through the second half and had six players score in double figures on its way to the win. SLU is now 2-0 on the season, while Chicago State fell to 0-2.
New Billiken Ishan Sharma, a sophomore transfer from Virginia, led Saint Louis with 16 points. The 6-foot-5 wingman made five three-pointers and has hit six total in the Billikens’ first two games.
Returning Billikens Robbie Avila and Kellen Thames both scored 15 points. Avila added six rebounds and two blocks, while Thames, who was five-for-five from the field, had four rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
Quentin Jones, Trey Green, and Amari McCottry all came off the bench and added 14, 11, and 10 points respectively.
Kellen Thames slams one home in SLU men’s basketball’s game against Chicago State on Thursday. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
The 108 points were the second most Saint Louis has scored in a game at Chaifetz Arena and the most the Billikens have scored against a Division I opponent on their home floor.
Overall, SLU shot 53.2 percent (33-62) from the field, including 12 three-pointers. The Billikens also outscored the Cougars 42-24 in the paint, 41-24 on fast breaks, and 58-25 in bench points.
Saint Louis led 66-58 following two Chicago State free throws at the 13:33 mark of the second half. Those were the last points the Cougars would score over the next four minutes as the Billikens began their decisive run.
Six different players scored during the spurt, with Sharma draining two of his treys to lead the way. Part of the flurry was a 7-0 mini run in a span of just 18 seconds that featured consecutive steals by Thames, Jones and Thames again that all led to baskets.
SLU’s Amari McCottry goes for a layup during SLU’s men’s basketball game against Chicago State on Thursday. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
Saint Louis will have the rest of the weekend off, before returning to action on Monday, November 10, with a home game against Lindenwood. Tip off at Chaifetz Arena is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
CHICAGO STATE 86
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Cox,Dailliss | * | 29 | 8-8 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 1-7 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 04 | Tankersley,Marcus | * | 32 | 4-15 | 0-2 | 7-11 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 08 | Byard,Stephen | * | 25 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 7-8 | 1-3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 21 | Bush,Braelon | * | 29 | 4-10 | 1-7 | 3-3 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| 01 | Jean-Charles,Deshawn | * | 12 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Ray,CJ | 18 | 2-6 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10 | Sands,Corey | 15 | 2-5 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 11 | Larvadain,Lionel | 12 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 09 | Robinson,Malek | 15 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 06 | Zatsepin,Daniel | 10 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | Delancy,CJ | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6-3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 26-66 | 6-19 | 28-35 | 12-21 | 33 | 23 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 10 | 86 |
SLU 108
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 25 | 6-8 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 1-5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | * | 15 | 5-6 | 0-0 | 5-5 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 15 |
| 11 | Dunlap, Brady | * | 19 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 4-4 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 13 | Brown, Dion | * | 21 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 0-3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 25 | Otieno, Paul | * | 21 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 09 | Sharma, Ishan | 19 | 5-8 | 5-8 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 01 | Jones, Quentin | 19 | 3-5 | 0-2 | 8-8 | 1-1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | |
| 03 | Green, Trey | 22 | 4-9 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | 24 | 3-7 | 1-4 | 3-4 | 0-6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 15 | Kerr, Jax | 7 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 24 | Hutson, Cam | 6 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 12 | Holmes, Isaac | 2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 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 | 33-62 | 12-32 | 30-33 | 7-31 | 38 | 24 | 18 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 108 |
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 |  | |
| November 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Grand Canyon | Chaifetz Arena |  | |
| November 21, 2025 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Purdue-Fort Wayne | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| November 27, 2025 (Thursday) | 6 pm | Neutral | Santa Clara | Palm Desert, Calif. |  | |
| November 28, 2025 (Friday) | TBA | Neutral | Minnesota or Stanford | Palm Desert, Calif. |  | |
| December 2, 2025 (Tuesday) | 9 pm | Away | Loyola Marymount | Los Angeles, Calif. | | |
| December 7, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Central Michigan | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| December 13, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | San Francisco | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| December 17, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Bethune-Cookman | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| December 21, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | New Hampshire | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| December 28, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Principia | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| December 31, 2025 (Wednesday) | 3 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| 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. |