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St. Louis - Saint Louis senior guard Anthony Drejaj knocked in four second-half treys to thwart a Jackson State rally as the Billikens handled the Tigers 69-53 tonight in a non-conference men's basketball game at Savvis Center. SLU junior center Ian Vouyoukas posted his second career double-double by matching his career high with 18 points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds.

"I'm not surprised by Anthony's performance, because he was in Savvis an hour before our shoot-around this afternoon and had worked up a healthy sweat," said Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg. "I'm always glad to see the rewards go to the guys who put in the work."

With the Billikens going inside early and often, Saint Louis powered its way to a 9-1 lead as Vouyoukas supplied five points and freshman guard Tommie Liddell contributed the other four points. SLU led by as many as 19 twice in the first half, but the Bills' attack slowed after Vouyoukas went to the bench with his second foul at the 8:57 mark. Nevertheless, the Billikens carried a 39-27 lead to the half as junior forward Justin Johnson gave SLU a lift off the bench with eight points.

Tigers guards Trey Johnson and Julius Young fueled an early second-half rally as JSU pulled within 49-42 after Johnson's two free throws at the 12:40 mark, making the Savvis crowd uneasy. Johnson had seven points in the spurt, while Young contributed five more. But Drejaj responded with his third triple of the half and followed with another shortly thereafter as SLU restored an 11-point edge. JSU again clawed within 55-48 with 10:18 to play, but Liddell hit connected on a jumper and a drive to send the Bills on their way to the win.

Drejaj also helped defensively by slowing down JSU's Johnson, who managed only one basket in the final 11 minutes, but still finished with a game-high 19 points. Young was the only other Tiger in double figures with 13 points. JSU (2-5) shot 32.7 percent from the field, 27.8 percent from the arc and 73.7 percent from the line.

Drejaj collected a season-high 14 points, and Liddell finished with 13. Johnson matched his career high with nine points. Sophomore guard Dwayne Polk had a game-high five assists. The Bills manhandled JSU on the glass 48-30 and also forced 14 Tiger turnovers. SLU shot 39 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from deep and 78.3 percent from the free throw line.

Saint Louis (3-2) visits defending national champion North Carolina Wednesday night for a nationally televised game on ESPN2. Tip-off is 8 p.m. (CT).