SLU’s Terrence Hargrove, Jr. celebrates with fans in the crowd, after hitting the game-winning shot in the Billikens’ win over Louisiana Tech, Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Tech (9-3) | 27 | 47 | 74 |
| Saint Louis University (7-5) | 37 | 38 | 75 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — With the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team down by six points with 30 seconds left in the game, one reporter (the one writing this story) began packing up his gear because he thought for sure the game was over.
That turned out to be way wrong and a huge mistake, because that’s when SLU senior Terrence Hargrove, Jr., took over the game and scored 11 points — all in spectacular manner — including a three-pointer that tied the game with six seconds left and another at the buzzer that lifted Saint Louis to a 75-74 victory over Louisiana Tech.
“I’m at a loss for words. I’m still in shock,” Hargrove said. “I had a rough game and my whole main thing was staying positive and getting a win. Those two big shots are just extra work. Those last couple of seconds was all the extra work I put in outside of practice. Extra time I put in, extra shots, just extra.”
Hargrove’s two big shots were the culmination of an exhilarating ballgame between the Billikens and Bulldogs, which saw both teams rally back from second half deficits. SLU led by as many as 11 points early in the second half, before Louisiana Tech came back to take a six-point lead in the final minute.
The East St. Louis native, Hargrove began SLU’s final rally with forceful drive down the lane that became a slam dunk and three-point play with 28.3 seconds left that made the score 70-67. Then after Louisiana Tech’s Sean Newman made one of two free throws, Hargrove drove the lane again, and made a layup (this time with no foul) to make the score 71-69.
Newman got fouled again, and once again, made just one of two free throws to put the Bulldogs up 72-69. But Hargrove wasn’t done.
This time, with the Louisiana Tech defense backing off because of the two previous drives, he pulled up and drilled a three-pointer that tied the score with 6.2 seconds left that tied the score at 72.
The fired up Chaifetz Arena crowd went ballistic on that make, but the thrill was short-lived, as SLU’s Gibson Jimerson, who seemed to not realize the score was tied, fouled Newman again to stop the clock with 5.1 seconds left.
Newman made both free throws this time to put the Bulldogs ahead 74-72, but that only set the stage for Hargrove’s final second dramatics.
The 6-foot-5 versatile forward took an inbounds pass from teammate Cian Medley and dribbled upcourt on the left side. Then, with a defender in his face, Hargrove calmly pulled up on the left wing and drained a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to win the game.
“They were up and teams sometimes get passive defensively, and we took advantage,” Ford said. “There was a little bit of a mismatch, and he’s had that all year long at the 5. So, we went to quick hitters for him at the 5 with the option to drive or kick for a 3, and it kept working. On the last one, I’m yelling that he had time to get to the rim. I told him he had time, but then he kind of veered left and he didn’t have a chance and had to put it up.
“I’ve been on both sides of those (buzzer beaters) in my career. And you never really know, but it always feels better when you’re on the right side.”
The win lifted SLU’s season record to 7-5, while Louisiana Tech fell to 9-3.
Despite his mistake with the foul at the end, Jimerson led Saint Louis with 23 points, which included four makes from three-point range, and moved into ninth all-time on the SLU career scoring list. Hargrove finished with 13 points and shared a big hug and laugh with Jimerson during the victory celebration.
“I can’t say exactly what he said, but I did save his behind,” Hargrove said. “Luckily those two shots saved the game. Gibson had a phenomenal game. Everyone messes up at some point. If you have your teammates’ backs, good things happen.”
Billiken fans also got their first look at 6’9 center Bradley Ezewiro, whose been forced to sit out the previous 11 games as he waits for an NCAA ruling on his eligibility this season. A recent federal injunction made all players eligible until it makes its ruling, which meant Ezewiro could play with no penalty on Saturday.
And in his first game as a Billiken, Ezewiro looked fantastic, as he scored 17 points, including three monster dunks, along with five rebounds, while he controlled the paint for the majority of the 18 minutes he played.
“I called him last night, and I just told him, ‘don’t feel like you have to do too much, just have fun and play basketball,'” Ford said. “And he just kept saying, ‘I won’t let you down, Coach. I won’t let you down.'”
Medley, SLU’s freshman point guard, who moved into the starting lineup following the injury to grad student senior Mike Meadows, Jr., also delivered a fine performance. He scored 10 points, which included two three-pointers, and dished out a game-high seven assists.
“We’re sticking working and trying to piece this thing together,” Ford said. “And I didn’t even think we had a good week of practice this week. It’s always rough the week of finals, because you never know where guys’ mindsets are. Is it on school and the finals? Is it on basketball? Can they do both? You never know. But it feels good to see them get rewarded with a great win like tonight.”
Saint Louis will get the next couple of days off, before it gets back on the court on Wednesday, December 20, with a road game against North Carolina State. That will be SLU’s final game of 2023 and also its final non-conference matchup of the entire season.
The Billikens will begin Atlantic 10 Conference play, when it comes back from Christmas and New Year’s break, with a matchup at Chaifetz Arena on January 3, against Loyola-Chicago.
Louisiana Tech 74
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Batcho,Daniel | * | 36 | 5-9 | 0-1 | 8-14 | 6-7 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| 22 | Crawford,Isaiah | * | 31 | 6-12 | 2-4 | 4-4 | 3-2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 04 | Newman Jr.,Sean | * | 37 | 4-16 | 0-6 | 4-6 | 0-5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 02 | Mangum,Dravon | * | 20 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 01 | Chavez,Tahlik | * | 31 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 03 | Henry,Tyler | 29 | 4-8 | 4-6 | 3-3 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | |
| 34 | Miller Jr.,Terri | 4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 00 | Ree,Devin | 6 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Henderson,Jaylin | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | Crawford,Jordan | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | Allen,Will | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Saint Louis 75
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 38 | 8-15 | 4-7 | 3-4 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr., Terrence | * | 28 | 5-6 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 01 | Medley, Cian | * | 33 | 3-5 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 05 | Dalger, Tim | * | 24 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Zhang, Bruce | * | 20 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 03 | Ezewiro, Bradley | 19 | 6-9 | 0-0 | 5-8 | 1-4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 13 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 02 | Hughes II, Larry | 24 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 15 | van Bussel, Stef | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 04 | Curcic, Djordje | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 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 | 27-50 | 10-18 | 11-15 | 6-27 | 33 | 20 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 75 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 20, 2023 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Away | NC State | Raleigh, N.C. (PNC Arena) | ACC Network+ | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 3, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | 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 | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Massachusetts | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 30, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) | Bally Sports Midwest | 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) | Bally Sports Midwest | 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) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | 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) |