SLU’s Gibson Jimerson (left) and Bruce Zhang try to defend a Vermont player during Friday afternoon’s game in the Myrtle Beach Invitational semifinals. (Photo courtesy: Vermont Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont (4-0) | 47 | 31 | 78 |
| Saint Louis University (4-1) | 32 | 36 | 68 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
CONWAY, SC — The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, when it fell 78-68 to the University of Vermont, in the semifinals of the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Friday afternoon at Coastal Carolina’s HTC Center.
Saint Louis was without prime scorer Sincere Parker, who had 18 points to lead the team, but suffered a broken bone in his foot near the end of Thursday’s win over Wyoming. Not having Parker was an issue, but a bigger problem on Friday was trying to stop Vermont’s offense, which came out firing and never really let up on its way to the win.
The Catamounts shot a blistering 64 percent in the first half, which included six three-pointers, on their way to taking a 47-34 lead into the break. The Billikens got as close as seven points on a couple of occasions in the second half, but never really got close enough to put themselves in position to win.
“They caused us obviously a lot of problems on the defensive end,” SLU head coach Travis Ford said. “As soon as you try to take away the drives, they start making 3s. We got spread out and they take you off the drive, and we just didn’t defend the ball well one-on-one.”
Vermont made 11 three-pointers total and shot 56 percent for the game. They also committed just nine turnovers and outrebounded Saint Louis 30-22. The Billikens looked like a team playing its first game without one of its key pieces.
“I thought we came out flat,” Ford said. “We were hoping we’d be able to score and press a little. How they got their 3s was no different than we knew they would – go one-on-one and kick it. Right now we don’t have a lot of resistance under the free-throw line. We have to hold our ground and wall up, and we didn’t do a good job of that.”
Three SLU players scored in double figures, led by Gibson Jimerson who had 18 points and Terrence Hargrove, Jr., who had 15. Tim Dalger also had 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. But it just wasn’t enough against the hot-shooting Catamounts.
“I don’t know how we scored 68. It sure didn’t feel like it,” Ford said. “The defense was bad enough – you can talk about that all day – but you have to be able to score a few points to play with Vermont.”
The Billikens will get a day off on Saturday, before concluding their trip to Myrtle Beach by playing in the tournament’s third-place game, Sunday evening against the loser of the day’s other semifinal game between Liberty and Wichita State. The winner will play Vermont in the title game on Sunday.
Vermont 78
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Long,TJ | * | 33 | 6-11 | 2-5 | 2-3 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 12 | Bogues,Shamir | * | 34 | 7-10 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 24 | Veretto,Matt | * | 29 | 6-11 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| 01 | Deloney,Aaron | * | 25 | 4-7 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 00 | Ayo-Faleye,Ileri | * | 22 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 4-4 | 3-5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 03 | Hurley,TJ | 21 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 3-3 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 05 | Mills,Brenton | 21 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 02 | Alamutu,Sam | 13 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 21 | Joba,Seth | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 29-52 | 11-24 | 9-14 | 3-30 | 33 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 78 |
Saint Louis University 68
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 38 | 6-15 | 3-8 | 3-3 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr., Terrence | * | 28 | 6-13 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 05 | Dalger, Tim | * | 26 | 2-7 | 1-1 | 5-9 | 3-3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 02 | Hughes II, Larry | * | 26 | 1-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 07 | Meadows Jr., Michael | * | 19 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 01 | Medley, Cian | 23 | 3-5 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 04 | Curcic, Djordje | 12 | 2-3 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 19 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 12 | Zhang, Bruce | 9 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-55 | 10-18 | 12-19 | 7-22 | 29 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 68 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 19, 2023 (Sunday) | 7 pm | Neutral | TBA | Conway, S.C. (HTC Center) | ESPN2 | KMOX 1120AM |
| November 25, 2023 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Dartmouth | Chaifetz Arena | BSMW & ESPN+ | KMOX 1120AM |
| 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) |