ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis senior guard Marque Perry dropped in a short jumper with 3.2 seconds remaining as the Billikens knocked off second-ranked Louisville 59-58 in a Conference USA game tonight at Savvis Center. The loss snapped the Cardinals' winning streak at 17.
"I'm just glad we could come in and get a win," Perry said. "We were in last place in our conference and we really need to win games if we want to even make the conference tournament. It is bigger because they are ranked No. 2 and leading our division."
The Billikens rallied from a 57-50 deficit with 1:57 remaining to pull out the victory as Perry scored seven of the Bills' last nine points. UofL appeared to have the game locked up as senior guard Reece Gaines drilled a triple for the seven-point lead. After a Perry bucket, SLU swingman Chris Sloan stole an errant UofL pass on the wing and dunked with 48 ticks left to pull SLU within 57-54.
The door appeared to open wider when Bills guard Josh Fisher stole the ball from Cards freshman guard Taquan Dean, but Perry dribbled the ball out of bounds at the other end with 27 seconds left. The Bills fouled Gaines, but he made only one of two free throws.
Perry quickly scored a traditional three-point play off a drive into the lane, and suddenly SLU trailed 58-57 with 14 seconds left. The Billikens went to fullcourt pressure, and UofL guard Larry O'Bannon lofted a pass for Gaines that Perry deflected. Bills freshman guard Anthony Drejaj tracked down the loose ball and quickly found Perry again. The Bills' guard again drove the ball into the paint and lofted the game winner. Gaines' desperation halfcourt heave slammed off the backboard and the front rim and bounced away as Bills fans stormed the court.
"We made some errors, and you have to call timeout," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. "Then we have to make free throws and the game is over, and we didn't. We still had the option to stop them, and we let Perry get to the rim two times. One for an "and-1" and the other to win the game."
Louisville stormed out of the gate to a 9-0 lead, but the Billikens answered with an 8-0 run of their own. The game was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way. When Sloan drilled a trey to end the half, the Bills led 30-27 at the break.
Perry opened the second half with a jumper and a threeball sandwiched between Gaines' trey, and SLU enjoyed its largest lead 35-29 causing UofL to call timeout. Gaines scored four consecutive points to tie the game at 38. The scored was knotted at 44 when Gaines nailed a three with 8:44 left, and the Cards appeared to take control.
SLU's Fisher made one of two free throws leaving UofL on top 51-50 with 5:26 left setting up the dramatic ending.
"Marque has been a true leader for us," Bills head coach Brad Soderberg said. "He's a phenomenal player. We played about as well as we can from an offensive rebounding standpoint and assist-to-turnover standpoint."
"Coach Soderberg told us that if it was close at the end, you never know what can happen," said Perry, who led the Bills with 25 points. "We tried to play good defense and execute on offense, knock down some shots and we did a good job of that at the end of the game.
"I'm happy for our players, because we needed a victory to believe," Soderberg said. "I can't minimize how big this is. To do it against the No. 2 team is so important for our players. I would have been happy to beat Hazelwood Central (High School) tonight, because we needed a win so bad.
Louisville (18-2, 8-1) shot 45 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from three and 70 percent from the free throw line. The Cardinals committed 16 turnovers that the Bills converted into 26 points. Gaines led all scorers with 28 points, but he was the only Cardinal in double figures.
Saint Louis shot 35 percent from the floor, but put up 20 more shots than the Cards. Although out-rebounded 33-30 by UofL, Saint Louis cashed in 14 offensive rebounds for 13 second chance points. Sloan and Fisher each chipped in with 11 points. Senior center Kenny Brown led all rebounders with 11 and held Cards center Marvin Stone without a point.
The Billikens (9-12, 3-7) return to Savvis Center to host East Carolina on Sat., Feb. 15, at 1 p.m.
