ST. LOUIS - Ian Vouyoukas buried two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining to give Saint Louis a thrilling 60-58 victory against St. Bonaventure tonight at Savvis Center in the first-ever Atlantic 10 Conference game for the Billikens.
Trailing by three with 34 ticks left on the clock, Saint Louis freshman guard Kevin Lisch hit a triple just outside the three-point line to knot the game 58-58. On the subsequent possession with the shot clock turned off, a St. Bonaventure shot with four seconds left missed and was corralled by Vouyoukas. The Bonnies' Paul Williams then fouled Vouyoukas, which sent him to the line where he buried both ends of the 1-and-1.
St. Bonaventure's Ahmad Smith took a half-court pass with time winding down and sent up a three at the horn which would have won the game, but it rimmed out.
"We got lucky there," Vouyoukas said. "Those are the kind of shots that went in against us last season."
Saint Louis (7-6, 1-0 A-10) took a one-point advantage into halftime despite shooting 38 percent to St. Bonaventure's (6-6, 0-1 A-10) 46 percent in the first frame. The Billikens mustered a 24-13 advantage in rebounds, including an 11-3 edge on the offensive glass, which they converted into 11 second-chance tallies.
Vouyoukas, who was forced to switch to jersey number No. 40 because of a cut on his chin, joined Danny Brown to lead the Bills with 10 points in the first half. Justin Johnson's eight and Vas'Shun Newborne's two points rounded out the Bills' scoring in the half.
The Billikens came out firing in the second frame, putting together an 11-0 run to stretch their lead to 11 with 14 minutes remaining. But a resilient St. Bonaventure squad did not back down and climbed back to within one with 5:29 left.
Michael Lee tied the game 55-55 with a free throw with 3:04 left, and a Williams free throw and an A.J. Hawkins jumper gave the Bonnies a 58-55 lead at the one minute mark. But Lisch's three pointer - which was reviewed by officials to see if he was beyond the three-point line but not overturned because of inconclusive evidence - and Vouyoukas' free throws sealed the first A-10 victory for the Billikens.
"I have to give a lot of credit to St. Bonaventure," Saint Louis coach Brad Soderberg said. "They showed up and were ready to play. Their coaching staff has really done a great job turning that program around. As for my team, I was pleased with the way our offense handled St. Bonaventure's zone defense, I thought it was a much better job than against Iowa."
Vouyoukas led the Bills with 18 points and nine rebounds. Brown, making his first start since the Jackson State game on Dec. 5, tied his career high with 16 points on six-of-12 shooting from the field and four-of-nine from beyond the arc. Johnson chipped in a career-high 12 points and pulled down six boards for the Bills.
Smith led the Bonnies with 18 and Lee added 16 points and eight boards.
St. Bonaventure shot 43 percent on the night and Saint Louis converted 39 percent from the field. SLU outrebounded the Bonnies 40-30, but committed 16 turnovers to SBU's 15.
Saint Louis, which ends a five-game homestand, will take to the road Wed., Jan. 11 to face A-10 foe and 19th-ranked George Washington. Tip-off time is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT).
