The fans at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday night were treated to a titanic struggle between two teams with a combined Atlantic 10 record of 5 wins and 18 losses. Despite the poor records, the game was a big one for the conference. Since only the top 12 teams make the post-season tournament, the winner of the SLU/Charlotte game would have a leg up on getting an invitation.
The game went pretty much the way you would expect a game between two bad teams to go. Neither squad had a lead of more than 4 or 5 points all night. The Billikens and the 49ers traded runs of 5, 6, or 7 points all night. Fittingly the game was tied at 31 at the half. The first half of play was dominated by Charlotte's 6'6" junior guard Javarris Barnett. He had 12 points at the break and would have had even more if he had not picked up 2 fouls early and had to sit on the bench for most of the middle portion of the half.
Out of the break, Barnett opened the scoring with a three pointer from the wing to give Charlotte a 34-31 lead. Apparently, whatever Head Coach Rick Majerus said in the locker room to the Billikens about guarding Barnett did not sink in, so Majerus took a timeout just 50 seconds into the second half to say it again. Thankfully for SLU it worked. Following that timeout Barnett would only score two more points the rest of the way, finishing with 17 for the game.
For SLU, the game was very sloppy. They turned the ball over 11 times, many of those on ill advised interior pass attempts. In a three possession stretch in the middle of the second half Freshman guard Mike McCall made horrible passes on three straight possessions. Despite the sloppiness, SLU still found themselves with an 8 point lead with 3:45 to play. This was thanks in large part to the effort, once again, of Freshman forward Dwayne Evans. Evans was fighting for rebounds, going hard to the basket, and even had a resounding blocked shot on a Charlotte fast break attempt.
However, as Billiken fans have witnessed far too many times this season, no SLU lead is safe. Charlotte made a run at the Billikens out of that final media timeout, cutting the eight point lead to 1; 57-56 with just 1:14 to play. On the next possession, SLU continued to look disoriented, but they scratched and clawed for an offensive rebound. The ball got kicked out to Junior guard Kyle Cassity who drove the left side of the lane and layed it in for his only two points of the game, making it 59-56 SLU. Junior forward Brian Conklin and McCall created turnovers on the next two Charlotte possessions to seal the victory for the Billikens.
SLU's (9-17, 4-9) next game is a rare non-conference contest for this time of year. They take on Chicago State (6-21) on Tuesday night at Chaifetz Arena, tip at 7:00 PM. The Cougars are led by 6'7" senior forward Carl Montgomery (16.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG). That is a game that SLU should win, and after that it gets real tough, as they close out conference play with games at home against Duquesne, at Dayton, and then back home for Xavier.
BILLIKENS PLAYER OF THE GAME
I should change the title to "Billikens Player of the Month". Freshman forward Dwayne Evans was the best player on the floor for SLU last night. Evans finished with a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) in 33 minutes of action. He also blocked two shots. He appears to me to be the only player we have that goes to the glass with any real authority on a consistent basis. If he continues this play he may end up being "Billikens Player of the Year".
49ERS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tough call here, only because he disappeared for most of the second half, but the honor still goes to Javarris Barnett. Barnett finished with 17 points, to lead all scorers. He also added six rebounds. Thankfully, for SLU fans, the Billikens tightened up the defense on him in the second half and limited him to only 2 points over the final 19 minutes.
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