ST. LOUIS - Sophomore forward Izik Ohanon led Saint Louis with 18 points as the Billikens routed West Virginia 75-45 this afternoon in a non-conference men's basketball game at Savvis Center. SLU senior guard Marque Perry crashed the 1,000-point barrier as the Bills won their fifth straight home game.
"I'm impressed with the resiliency of our players with this win after a poor performance at Kansas State," Billiken first-year head coach Brad Soderberg said. "It's the residual effect of having a veteran team. Our seniors keep it steady. They don't get too pumped up after a big win or too down when we lose."
Saint Louis jumped on the Mountaineers with a 12-2 run to open the game and led 30-18 at halftime. Ohanon had eight of his points in the first half on 4-of-4 shooting.
The Billikens opened the second half with a 9-2 run and kept WVU at bay the rest of the game. The Mountaineers never got closer than 12 the rest of the way. Ohanon finished shooting 8-of-9 from the field and also contributed five boards and two assists. His two offensive rebounds resulted in stick backs for second-chance points.
"Quite honestly, this is what we were hoping for," Soderberg said. "Izik has the ability to make shots at the basket. He can make shots at the perimeter. He can do stuff off the dribble. He can pass and rebound. If he can improve athletically with more strength, agility and quickness, he can be really good."
"I know what I can do," Ohanon said. "I'm pleased with the way I got into the rotation, and things are working out great. We played well as a team, and I got great passes from my teammates. They found me under the basket when I was wide open."
"Saint Louis played a wonderful game, just a textbook basketball game," WVU head coach John Beilein said. "It was a bit of a mismatch in experience. Their moxie and feel for the game is something that I hope we can emulate as our program grows."
"The one factor that we didn't count on today was Ohanon, who threw a wrench into everything that we were trying to do," Beilein said. "He's unselfish, he passes it, he shoots it and he rebounds it. We knew he was just eligible, but we didn't expect that. He killed our zone, which has been a savior for us."
The Billiken defense held the Mountaineers, who had been averaging 71 ppg, to a season-low point total. WVU (8-3) shot 42.5 percent from the field and got out-rebounded 32-19. Sophomore guard Drew Schifino led the way with 22 points. Schifino is the leading scorer in a starting five that features two sophomores and three freshmen.
With 14 points, Perry became just the 21st player in Billiken history to crack the 1,000-point barrier. Senior guard Drew Diener scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Senior center Kenny Brown topped the Bills with seven boards and three slams.
Saint Louis shot 56.3 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from three. The Billikens also dished out 19 assists while committing just eight turnovers.
The Billikens (6-5) open their Conference USA schedule by hosting 13th-ranked Marquette on Tue., Jan. 7, in a 7:10 p.m. tip-off at Savvis.
