Robbie Avila scored 19 points, including the game-winning basket in SLU’s win over Davidson, Monday night. (Photo courtesy: SLU Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLU (16-12, 9-6) | 18 | 39 | 57 |
| Davidson (16-12, 6-9) | 27 | 29 | 56 |
Jason Barnes
Special to the Editor
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Dynamo big man Robbie Avila made a sprawling basket with 4.3 seconds left to complete a furious second-half rally that gave the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team a 57-56 comeback victory over Davidson College in Atlantic 10 Conference game at Belk Arena.
The Billikens improved to 16-12 overall and 9-6 in league play with the come-from-behind victory. Davidson fell to 16-12 and 6-9 in the A-10.
Saint Louis rallied from 13 points down with 6:31 remaining in the second half to post the win.
Isaiah Swope led the Billikens with 23 points, which included a 6-of-10 performance from 3-point range. Avila scored 19 points for the Bills, including 17 in the second half.
Saint Louis struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 25 percent from the field, but turned it around in the second and shot a sizzling 59.3 percent from the field.
SLU had the lead briefly at 34-33 at the 14:20 mark of the second half before Davidson went on an 18-4 spurt to lead by 13, 51-38, with 6:31 to go.
That is when the Billikens went to work. Avila and Gibson Jimerson scored consecutive baskets, and Amari McCottry scored back-to-back baskets to pull SLU within striking distance.
Jimerson hit a big 3-pointer, his second trey of the game, with 3:19 left to pull the Billikens within four. After Davidson hit a trey to go up by seven with 1:45 left, Avila answered with a 3-pointer to set up the thrilling final minute of play.
With the ball and down four in the final minute, Swope drained a long 3-pointer with 44.2 seconds left to pull SLU within one. Davidson missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, Kobe Johnson snared the rebound, and the Bills had the ball with the shot clock turned off and the chance to win it.
After a timeout, Avila went to the hole and converted underneath with 4.3 seconds remaining to give SLU the 57-56 advantage.
Davidson had an open look from 3-point range at the buzzer to win it, but the shot was off the mark, and SLU escaped with the thrilling one-point victory.
The Billikens fell behind by as many as 13 in the first half and trailed by nine at the break, 27-18. Swope kept the Bills in the game with the 3-ball, hitting 4-of-7 from long range in the opening half alone.
The Billikens are back in action on Saturday when they host Loyola Chicago at Chaifetz Arena for the Billiken Blue Out. Game time on CBS Sports Network is set for 3 p.m.
SLU 57
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Swope, Isaiah | * | 38 | 8-14 | 6-10 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 35 | 9-17 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 37 | 3-13 | 2-10 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 06 | Anya, Kalu | * | 18 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 08 | Johnson, Kobe | * | 34 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | 24 | 3-7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| 33 | Warlick, Dylan | 11 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 35 | Pikaar, Max | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-55 | 9-27 | 2-5 | 9-29 | 38 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 57 |
Davidson 56
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Kochera,Connor | * | 35 | 9-16 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
| 01 | Bailey,Reed | * | 37 | 6-14 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| 02 | Durkin,Bobby | * | 35 | 3-11 | 2-8 | 0-0 | 1-7 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 12 | Adam,Hunter | * | 23 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 04 | Loughnane,Mike | * | 17 | 0-4 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 00 | Joses,Manie | 20 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 2-1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 20 | Laput,Zach | 17 | 1-5 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 45 | Blums,Roberts | 13 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 08 | Hurlburt,Joe | 3 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 22-58 | 8-28 | 4-6 | 7-25 | 32 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 56 |
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) | L 73-72 (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) | L 67-61 (12-8) |
| January 28, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | W 78-69 (13-8) |
| January 31, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | L 71-63 (13-9) |
| February 4, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) | W 73-71 (14-9) |
| February 7, 2025 (Friday) | 8 pm | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena) | L 76-73 (14-10) |
| February 11, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | George Mason | Chaifetz Arena | L 76-74 (14-11) |
| February 14, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) | L 79-68 (14-12) |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Home | Rhode Island | Chaifetz Arena | W 81-66 (15-12) |
| February 25, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Davidson | Davidson, N.C. (Belk Arena) | W 57-56 (16-12) |
| 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 | FanDuel Sports Midwest |
| March 12-16 | TBA | Neutral | Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament | Washington, D.C. (Capital One Arena) |