ST. LOUIS - Junior guard Dwayne Polk (St. Louis, Mo. / Vashon) netted a career-high 17 points and led Saint Louis to a 77-53 triumph over Tennessee-Martin Saturday night at Scottrade Center. Polk, who was one of four Billikens in double figures, also contributed five assists and two steals as the Billikens (8-2) continue to build on their best start since the 1997-98 season.
SLU combined staunch defense and efficient shooting from the floor to reel off the first 11 points of the tilt. Junior forward Luke Meyer (Washington, Mo. / Borgia) and Kevin Lisch (Belleville, Ill. / Althoff) contributed to the pace-setting run by connecting on a couple of traditional 3-point plays. A Tommie Liddell (East St. Louis, Ill. / Hargrave Academy) outside jumper was included in the rally, which was capped by a 3-pointer from Liddell at the 15:38 mark.
Meanwhile, SLU's defense held UT Martin (3-8) scoreless through the first five and a half minutes of play. McKale Jones got the Skyhawks on the board with a jumper at the 14:39 mark, which sparked a 7-0 run for UTM as it tried to dig out of its early deficit. Consecutive layups from senior center Ian Vouyoukas (Athens, Greece) and Meyer got the Billikens back on track. They cruised to a 38-24 halftime lead thanks to Meyer's game-high 11 points at the half and Vouyoukas' seven boards.
Lisch, SLU's leading scorer, suffered a hand laceration in the middle of the first half and was kept out the rest of the way for precautionary reasons. He is expected to be in the lineup when the Billikens take on Missouri State Monday at Scottrade Center.
Just as it did in the first half, SLU came out firing in the second. Fast-break buckets in transition from Polk and junior swingman Danny Brown (Houston, Texas) highlighted an 11-2 Billikens run through the first four and a half minutes of the frame.
Trailing by 25 with 15:38 remaining, UT Martin kept plugging away and managed to put together a 12-0 run. Bubba Tolliver and Will Lewis combined to generate the offensive punch for the Skyhawks. The Billikens' five-minute scoreless drought was snapped when Liddell sank a pull-up jumper, at which point the Billikens regained control of the game and cruised to the 24-point victory.
Polk, whose previous career-high was a 16-point output against DePaul in his freshman season, connected on 7-of-13 shots from the floor and nailed three second-half 3-pointers. He hauled in four rebounds and complemented his five assist night with no turnovers. Meyer was 5-of-8 from the floor as he pumped in 15 points. Vouyoukas posted his second-straight double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Liddell also posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
St. Louis-native Cleve Woodfork led the Skyhawks with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.
The Bills return to action on Mon., Dec. 18, when cross-state rival Missouri State comes to town for a 7 p.m. tilt at Scottrade Center. The game will be broadcast on KY3 in Springfield, Mo., and on CCIN in St. Louis.
