The St. Louis Billikens rode a late 13-0 run to stall the Salukis 56-51 at Scottrade Center Saturday night. In a game of streaks, the Bills were hottest down the stretch.
SLU jumped to an early 13-8 advantage, but Southern's offense ground into gear and the Dawgs went up 23-16. Undaunted, the Bills energized their half of the crowd by hitting the next eight points, including a shot from the corner for a 24-23 lead at the break.
SIU forged a 48-39 lead with less than five minutes left and looked ready to close out a hard earned road win. The Billiken faithful, however, were in for a treat. Led by Junior guard Kevin Lisch, who tallied 8 of his 20 points in the closing minutes, the Bills roared past the gasping Salukis to cruise off with the victory.
Lisch and backcourt partner Tommy Liddell combined for 36 points, while Matt Shaw(21) , and Randall Falker (12) paced SIU. Josh Bone started the game and was held to 5 points, (including a late, clutch three) and he will need to take a bigger role in the offense for the Salukis to be successful. The Dawgs received zero offensive help off the bench.
Closing out games continues to be a struggle for Southern, now 4-4 on the year. SLU (7-5) racked up their 6th home win in seven outings this season.
With coach Rick Majerus at the helm and a new arena under contruction on campus the SLU program appears to be heading toward a measure of prosperity. It does seem somewhat strange to see A-10 conference membership banners hanging from the rafters at the Scottrade Center.
Perhaps one day the Bills, will return to the Valley. In any event, Southern and SLU are natural rivals. SLU has the alltime edge, at 25-23, including winning 19 of 28 games in St. Louis. Southern holds is 14-6 at home.
