The Billikens came in to Saturday night's game with Duquesne riding a two-game winning streak. That doesn't sound like much, but for SLU that equalled their longest streak of the season. Billikens fans were skeptical though, given that the most recent wins came against a depleted and awful Charlotte team and Chicago State, a team that lost to an NAIA team just before getting beat by SLU. The Billikens answered the bell against a Duquesne team that was fighting for a first-round bye in the A-10 Tournament, and beat the Dukes for their first 3 game winning streak of the season.
The contest was physical all night, and that played into the Billikens game. SLU likes to slow the game down, and keep the game in the high 50s or low 60s, while Duquesne averages close to 80 points per game (78.4). Freshman Dwayne Evans and Junior Brian Conklin constantly put their bodies into the Duquesne players on the defensnive end, pushing them off of their spots. This led to an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers for Duquesne.
The defensive pressure kept the Dukes leading scorer, Senior Bill Clark, under wraps. Clark finished with 11 points, but was only 1 for 6 from behind the three point line. SLU also forced Clark into 7 turnovers. It was clear the defensive pressure was getting to Clark in the second half when, after a turnover by the Dukes, he threw his hands in the air and shook his head in disgust as he crossed mid-court.
The Billikens defended the three-point line extremely well. Duquesne finished just 2 of 14 (14.3%) from behind the arc. They average 36.6% for the season.
For SLU, it was the type of game they have to play to win. They played tough defense all night which allowed them to survive the offensive droughts that fans in the seats at Chaifetz Arena have become accustomed to witnessing all season. On the offensive end, it again appeared that they were trying to force the high-low game. Too many times passes were forced over the top to the man on the block when the lane was just not open. This led to an assist to turn over ratio of just 12 to 15. SLU did put three players in double figures (Freshman Mike McCall, 18; Freshman Jordair Jett, 14; and Conklin, 11)
Also, the Billikens struggles at the free throw line continue. They shot only 52.4 % (11-21) from the line. They did, however, step to the line and make free throws in the final minute to salt away the win. McCall and Jett, in particular, hit their freebies at the end.
SLU (11-17, 5-9) goes on the road Wednesday night against Dayton (19-9, 7-6), and UD Arena is always a tough place to play. The Flyers are led by Senior Chris Wright (12.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG). Dayton beat SLU at Chaifetz Arena earlier this season 60-50. The Billikens have secured their spot in the conference tournament, but would like to continue the momentum into post-season play, and a win in Ohio would go a long way to accomplishing that goal.
BILLIKENS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Freshman Jordair Jett gave the Billikens a big lift off the bench, when Freshman Dwayne Evans got in early foul trouble. Jett finished with 14 points in 27 minutes of action. He also grabbed 7 rebounds, had four assists and four steals. Perhaps, most importantly, he stepped to the line in the final minutes and made big free throws to ice the game. He finished 4 of 5 from the line.
DUKES PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior Damian Saunders led the Dukes with 15 points. He tried to put the team on his back in the waning minutes, but it was not enough to complete the come-back for Duquesne.
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