Dec. 19, 1999
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis held off stubborn UMKC 66-64 this afternoon before a paid crowd of 12,657 at Kiel Center in a non-conference men's basketball game. Billikens junior forward Maurice Jeffers posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 boards to spare SLU from the upset.
"We didn't come out with the intensity necessary to win games in Conference USA, but we got the job done and that's all that counts," Jeffers said. "We didn't play our best defensive game, but it was good enough today. We need to turn up the intensity at the defensive end."
The Billikens out-rebounded the Kangaroos 42-26, and had a 17-to-4 advantage in second chance points, but the Bills shot only 41 percent from the field and 57.7 percent (15-26) from the free throw line to keep UMKC alive.
"UMKC did a great job today, and we were fortunate," said Billikens head coach Lorenzo Romar. "Maurice was about the only one that was active out there at both ends. He is like most junior college players in that he is beginning to come around toward the beginning of the conference season. I think we'll begin to see more performances like this one."
The Billikens also were hampered by foul trouble as leading scorer Justin Love played only 18 minutes before fouling out and finished with a season-low eight points. Freshman point guard Marque Perry played 30 minutes, but was slowed by a sprained right toe and he did not have a field goal.
The Saint Louis bench came to the rescue as senior guard Dave Fergerson contributed 11 points, and freshman forward Andrew Latimer set career highs with 11 points and seven rebounds. Latimer drained a late three that seemed to seal the verdict, and Fergerson hit three of four free throws in the final seven seconds to thwart UMKC's last gasp.
Saint Louis jumped to a six-point lead immediately and relinquished the lead only once. The 'Roos jumped on top 21-20 on a Marcus Golson jumper with 7:49 remaining in the first half. The Billikens answered with a 9-0 run and never trailed again. Jeffers had five of the points in that rally. Saint Louis led 37-31 at halftime after Jeffers finished the half with a traditional three-point play.
Saint Louis seemingly had the game in hand with a 10-point lead 13:54 remaining, but couldn't finish off the 'Roos. UMKC leading scorer Michael Jackson sparked the surge with a pair of free throws and a dunk. After a Matt Suther trey and a pair of Terrance Chatman free throws, UMKC had closed within 52-50 with 5:45 to play. Jackson's jumper closed the gap to 53-52, but Tatum answered with a jumper in the lane.
Latimer connected on a pair of free throws and drilled a straight-away three to give Saint Louis command again 61-54 with 2:11 remaining. Perry made two of four free throws in the final minute and left the door open for UMKC. "I couldn't do much with my foot," Perry said. "I couldn't push off, and I couldn't push the ball up the floor the way I like. On defense, I just tried to keep my man in front of me."
Chatman's deep three off the run brought UMKC within 65-64 with one second remaining, but Fergerson hit one more free throw and time had run out on the 'Roos. Jackson led UMKC with 23 points, while Suther contributed 13 and Chatman had 10. The Kangaroos dropped to 4-5 on the season.
The Billikens travel to Dayton (8-1) on Thu., Dec. 23, before taking a break for Christmas. Saint Louis resumes on Thu., Dec. 30, when the Billikens challenge eighth-ranked Kansas at Kansas City's Kemper Arena.
