ST. CHARLES, Mo.-Saint Louis topped Eastern Illinois 69-45 tonight in a non-conference men's basketball game at the St. Charles Family Arena. Sophomore guard Danny Brown led four Billikens in double figures with 16 points. Freshman guard Tommie Liddell chipped in 13 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
"We seemed to be a little nervous early, but we closed the half by out-scoring them 20-2 once we settled into our defense," Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg said. "It's just exciting to get this game out of the way, because we got a chance to see the potential that we have."
Saint Louis (1-0) jumped on top 7-4 as Brown contributed three early points. But the Billiken offense slowed down against the Panthers' (0-2) zone, and EIU guard Mike Robinson buried back-to-back treys as the Panthers built a 17-10 lead. Foul trouble became a factor for the Panthers, and the Bills' defense settled in to spark an 18-0 run. Brown capped the rally with a lay-up and a dunk off a steal. Liddell contributed six points to the SLU surge. Saint Louis led 30-19 at the break by limiting the Panthers to 28 percent shooting and forcing 10 EIU turnovers.
After shooting 38 percent in the first half, the Bills came out firing in the second. Brown drained a trey a minute and a half into the second frame before junior center Ian Vouyoukas rolled off five straight points. Freshman guard Kevin Lisch drained one of his two triples with 11 minutes left to give the Bills their biggest lead of the game at 27. Strong defense down the stretch limited EIU chances as SLU cruised to its first victory of the year.
Saint Louis tied the school record with 10 blocked shots on the night, led by Liddell's four. It was the most blocks by the Bills since the 1981 season when they managed 10 against Dayton.
Vouyoukas and Lisch each pumped in 12 points for the Bills. SLU shot 45 percent from the field including a 51 percent efficiency in the second half. The Bills also converted 7-of-8 free throws in the second frame.
Robinson led Eastern Illinois with 16 points. The Panters were doomed by 34 percent shooting and 18 turnovers.
The Billikens have their first road test Saturday at Hawaii. Tip-off is slated for midnight.
