SLU freshman Cian Medley looks for someone to pass to, while NC State’s Dennis Parker defends. (Photo courtesy: Reuters)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Louis University (7-6) | 36 | 34 | 70 |
| North Carolina State (8-3) | 33 | 49 | 82 |
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
RALEIGH, NC — In its final game of the 2023 calendar year, the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team suffered an 82-70 loss to North Carolina State in a non-conference game at PNC Arena.
The Billikens and Wolfpack played an even first half, which Saint Louis actually led 36-33 at the break. But NC State came out firing in the second half and never let up, on its way to a 49-point final 20 minutes and a convincing win over the Billikens.
Three members of the Wolfpack roster ended the night with double figures in scoring, led by 21 points from Casey Morsell, complimented by 18 from DJ Horne and 13 from DJ Burns, Jr.
For Saint Louis, Bradley Ezewiro had his second impressive game in as many outings, scoring 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the line. He corralled a career-high-tying nine rebounds.
Teammate Tim Dalger finished with 17 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line, while Terrence Hargrove Jr. added eight points and eight rebounds.
Both teams shot 50 percent from the floor. NC State, however, shot 9-of-17 from 3-point range in the second half after going 0-for-8 in the first half. The Billikens got a trey from Hargrove on their first attempt of the game, but went 0 for their next 11 to finish 1-of-12 from distance.
The Billikens led 50-46, five minutes into the second half. But that is when the Wolfpack went on its game-changing run. NC State used a 29-7 run from 14:32 to 4:53 in the second half to turn the four-point deficit into a 75-57 lead.
SLU never got closer than nine points after that and saw its season record fall to 7-6. NC State, which was coming off a loss to No. 9 Tennessee, is now 8-3 on the season.
The Billikens will now get a much needed and much deserved two weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s, before returning to action with the beginning of Atlantic 10 Conference play on January 3, with a home game against Loyola-Chicago.
The game that night at Chaifetz Arena is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m.
Saint Louis University 70
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Ezewiro, Bradley | * | 24 | 6-8 | 0-0 | 6-7 | 2-7 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 05 | Dalger, Tim | * | 35 | 6-10 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr., Terrence | * | 38 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 35 | 1-8 | 0-5 | 5-6 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 01 | Medley, Cian | * | 21 | 2-6 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 07 | Meadows Jr., Michael | 18 | 3-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 02 | Hughes II, Larry | 16 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 12 | Zhang, Bruce | 11 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-46 | 1-12 | 23-29 | 7-27 | 34 | 22 | 10 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 70 |
NC State 82
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Morsell,Casey | * | 36 | 8-11 | 4-6 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| 00 | Horne,DJ | * | 25 | 7-13 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| 30 | Burns Jr.,D.J. | * | 23 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 3-5 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 11 | Parker, Jr.,Dennis | * | 29 | 4-8 | 0-2 | 0-4 | 4-3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 01 | Taylor,Jayden | * | 36 | 2-10 | 0-6 | 3-4 | 0-5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 34 | Middlebrooks,Ben | 15 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 12 | O’Connell,Michael | 18 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 03 | Rice,MJ | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 02 | Woods,Kam | 4 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 04 | Thomas,LJ | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 23 | Diarra,Mohamed | 3 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Pass,Breon | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 24 | Ross,Ernest | 2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | Keatts,KJ | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | Nunnally,Alex | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | Snell,Jordan | 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 | 3-2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 31-62 | 9-25 | 11-22 | 11-18 | 29 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 82 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |