St. Louis - Saint Louis senior forward Chris Sloan posted a double-double to pace the Billikens past Athletes in Action 68-58 tonight in a men's exhibition basketball game at Savvis Center.
Sloan posted 13 points and 14 rebounds as four Bills scored in double figures. He added three steals to round out his line.
"Chris was just Chris tonight, which means he was pretty good," Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg said. "He was in good position defensively and was aggressive at the offensive end."
"I don't think we can expect 14 rebounds every night," Sloan said. "But it's great to see the off-season work and the conditioning that you put into your body pay off."
The Billikens stormed past AIA with a 19-2 run to start the second half. Sophomore guard Anthony Drejaj drilled a pair of triples and knocked down two free throws to spark the rally. After Drejaj's tosses, the Bills enjoyed their biggest lead at 48-32 with 14:11 remaining.
AIA hung in there put some effective fullcourt pressure on and climbed to within 60-52 with 2:56 remaining. Drejaj, who finished with a team-high 14 points drained 6-of-6 free throws in the waning moments to seal the deal.
The Billikens started sluggishly as AIA capitalized on a rash of SLU turnovers to jump to a 19-11 lead. The Bills climbed back into the game on the shooting of junior guard Reggie Bryant, who had seven points in a 16-9 run. A Josh Fisher lay-up gave the Bills a 29-28 lead, but AIA's Donte Quinine drained two free throws to give the visitors a 30-29 lead at the break. The Bills had 14 turnovers at halftime, but made up for it by forcing 10 turnovers and taking a 21-13 edge on the boards.
SLU's Bryant finished with 12 points, and junior forward Izik Ohanon added 10. The Bills shot 41.2 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three and 79.2 percent from the free throw line. SLU out=rebounded AIA 38-26.
Forward Shawn Redhage led AIA with 16 points. AIA shot 44.9 percent from the field and only 22.2 percent from deep.
Saint Louis completes its two-game exhibition season by hosting the EA Sports All-Stars on Mon., Nov. 17.
