Saint Louis junior guard Josh Fisher posted a career-high 21 points tonight as the Billikens shut down Southern Illinois 71-60 in a non-conference men's basketball game at Savvis Center. Billiken senior guard Marque Perry scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the final seven minutes to thwart a Salukis rally.
"Our seniors were ready to play tonight and remembered losing our season opener to Southern last year," Billiken first-year head coach Brad Soderberg said. "They talked an awful lot before the game about not losing to that team again."
The Billikens bolted to a 28-13 halftime lead on the strength of solid defense. SIUC didn't score its 10th point until 5:03 remained in the half. SLU limited the Salukis to 22.7 percent from the field in the opening session as SIUC also went 0-5 from three-point distance. The Salukis seemed to be affected at the free throw line where they were 3-11.
Saint Louis stretched the lead to 45-23 on senior Chris Braun's jumper with 11:50 remaining in the game before Southern rallied. Salukis reserve guard Blake Schoen's lay-up cut the margin to 53-44 with 6:18 to play. That's when Perry went to work.
After sitting for 10 minutes in the first half with foul trouble, Perry finished with a season-low 27 minutes. Perry answered Schoen's bucket with a pair of free throws. Perry and Fisher combined to score the Bills' last 24 points. Perry's spectacular change of hands, left-handed floating scoop lay-up at the 2:14 mark may have been the play of the game and his triple with 2:13 left provided SLU with a 64-51 essentially ended any thoughts of a near-miracle SIUC comeback. Perry and Fisher closed the game by making 7-of-8 free throws.
"Marque is a gamer, and I've not coached many like him," Soderberg said. "It was an extremely difficult decision to sit him in the first half with foul trouble, because we struggle to score without him. But at the end, he was making threes, runners, free throws - everything that we needed."
"Our team looks to me to make big shots down the stretch, especially when it's close," Perry said. "It's up to me to meet the challenge, and I was able to do that tonight."
Besides pouring in 21 points, Fisher also hounded Missouri Valley All-Conference guard Kent Williams into a 2-of-10 shooting night and seven points, which is eight below his average. Fisher's strong game included 6-of-8 shooting from the field, 8-of-8 from the free throw line, four assists and five steals.
"Josh accepted the challenge of guarding Kent Williams," Soderberg said. "Josh is athletic and strong, and he seemed to bother Kent. Josh deserves a ton of credit for the job he did tonight."
The Salukis shot only 35.2 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from three for the game. SIUC out-boarded the Bills 31-27 by chasing down 15 offensive rebounds. Guards Daren Brooks and Stetson Hairston collected 12 and 10 points, respectively, while forward Jermaine Dearman added 11.
Saint Louis' efficient offense was hampered by 18 turnovers as the Billikens shot 52.6 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from three. Braun and senior Kenny Brown led SLU with five and six rebounds, respectively.
Saint Louis sophomore forward Izik Ohanon made his debut after sitting out a NCAA-mandated eight games for playing in an Israeli pro league. He contributed three rebounds and two points in 14 minutes.
"We were going completely on feel with Izik tonight," Soderberg said. "We were pleased, because he didn't force things. He got on the glass and defended well. He got in a stance against Jermaine Dearman and did a good job. We're not worried about his points, because they'll come."
The Billikens (5-4) travel to Kansas State for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Thu., Jan. 2.
