ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis survived a last second Southern Miss shot to slip past the Golden Eagles 56-55 in a Conference USA men's basketball game tonight before 8,161 fans at Savvis Center. Billikens junior guard Reggie Bryant led all scorers with 20 points as the Bills bounced back from Saturday's last second loss at Marquette.
"Sometimes when you can win a game when you're not at your best, that's a good sign," said Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg. "We weren't at our best, but that's a credit to Southern Miss. They may not carry the same name recognition as Cincinnati or Louisville, but they're very good."
The Billikens led 55-49 with 5:37 remaining after senior guard Josh Fisher buried two free throws. But the Bills would score only one more point the rest of the way. SLU's Bryant made only 1-of-2 tosses with 1:55 left sandwiched around USM center Charles Gaines' four free throws. After a missed Fisher lay-up, SLU center Tom Frericks was fouled on the tap-in attempt, but he missed both tosses with 1:04 left. Eagles forward Jasper Johnson powered his way in from the right block for a short bank shot, and USM trailed 56-55 with 40 seconds remaining.
The Bills ran the shot clock down on the ensuing possession, and Fisher's shot didn't draw iron resulting in a shot clock violation with just over six seconds left. The Eagles worked the ball up the floor, and USM guard David Haywood, who is C-USA's fourth-best three-point marksman at 46.7 percent, had a good look at a trey out of the deep left corner, but banged it off the rim.
Southern Miss came out sharp in the first half and hit eight of its first 10 shots in forging a 19-9 lead as forward Greg Johnson contributed seven points to the spurt. But as has been the case lately, the Billikens' defense tightened, and SLU went on a 13-2 run to take a 22-21 lead at the 8:55 mark. C-USA's third-leading scorer, Bryant fueled the rally with eight of his first-half 10 points.
Fisher then took over and scored seven of his 10 first-half points down the stretch as SLU moved to a 35-29 lead at the break. Both teams were sizzling during the opening half as the Bills shot 66.7 percent from the field, and USM shot 54.2 percent from the floor.
Southern Miss (8-6, 1-2) came out strong again in the second half with an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead and still led 47-44 with 8:38 left. Saint Louis responded with a 9-0 run to forge a 53-47 edge. Bryant's deep three from right in front of the Billikens' bench tied the game, and the Bills got four points from senior forward Chris Sloan in the run. Saint Louis then hung on.
The loss stretched Southern Miss' C-USA road losing streak to 18 games. The Eagles haven't won in league play on the road since beating the Bills in St. Louis during the 2000-01 season. Greg Johnson topped the Eagles with 15 points, and Jasper Johnson chipped in with 14 off the bench.
The Billikens' Fisher added 14 points, and Frericks chipped in with 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds. The Billikens finished shooting 48.7 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Eagles 27-20.
Saint Louis (9-5, 2-1) continues its three-game C-USA homestand Sat., Jan. 17, when the Billikens entertain South Florida at 1:10 p.m.
