HOUSTON (AP) - In a reversal of recent trends, Saint Louis suffered its worst shooting in five games, falling at Houston 59-58 tonight at Hofheinz Pavilion. The Billiken defense held the Cougars nearly 20 points below their season average and had an opportunity to win on the last possession, but could not get off a shot in the final 20 seconds. In a game neither team led by more than five points at any time, the side dominating each half ended up trailing at the conclusion of the period. Sophomore Tommie Liddell posted SLU's first double-double since Dec. 22 with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
With 6:26 left in the game, Adam Knollmeyer's free throw gave the Bills their largest lead of the night at 54-49. UH's Robert McKiver hit a 3-ponter at 6:08 to pull the Cougars within two, and the junior guard had a chance to tie it moments later but missed a pair of free throws. The Billikens turned the ball over on their next three possessions then yielded a pair of offensive rebounds before Nick Mosley knotted the game at 54-54 with a lay-up at the 4:34 mark.
Neither team could find the range over the next 90 seconds, but Ian Vouyoukas put SLU back on top at 2:49, hitting both free throws of a 1-and-1 opportunity. Oliver Lafayette missed the front end of his 1-and-1 on the other end, but another Billiken turnover gave the Cougars another shot at the tie. Marcus Malone did one better with a 3-pointer with just under two minutes remaining to put UH up 57-56. Luke Meyer answered quickly with a layup to put SLU back in front, and Vouyoukas blocked Jahmar Thorpe's jumper to give the Bills a shot to build on that lead. Thorpe responded with a steal and a jumper at 1:01 for a 59-58 Houston lead.
After Dwayne Polk could not connect on a 3-pointer, McKiver missed another free throw to set up the final Billiken possession with 23 seconds left. The Cougar defense forced Kevin Lisch into a deep 3-pointer from the left wing. UH could not corral the rebound, however, and the Bills had one final chance with four ticks on the clock. Liddell lofted the in-bound pass to Vouyoukas, who saw Malone swoop in to strip the ball and secure the Cougar victory.
In the first half, Saint Louis used a 9-1 run late in the period to claim a five-point lead with 2:15 left in the period. Lisch hit a lay-up and buried a 3-pointer at 4:21 to give the Bills a 28-27 lead. Liddell added a fade away jumper moments later, and Polk hit a pair of free throws for a 32-27 margin with 2:15 in the half. Lafayette and Thorpe combined to cut the lead to one, but Liddell drove for a lay-up and forced Lafayette into a missed 3-pointer to close out the half with the Bills leading 34-31.
Houston opened the second half with a 7-0 run behind good rebounding, including three on the offensive end, to build a four-point lead three minutes into the period. Luke Meyer hit a short jumper in transition for a 42-40 Billiken lead. Lafayette twice pulled the Cougars within a point before the Billikens built their final five-point lead.
After hitting 48 percent in the first half, Saint Louis struggled from the field in the second period, hitting just 30.4 percent, including 3-of-11 from 3-point range. The Cougars were equally cool from behind the arc, scoring just 4-of-17 from 3-point range in the second half.
Lisch's 18 points led all scorers as did his three assists, all while holding McKiver, UH's leading scorer, to just eight points and six turnovers. Meyer joined Lisch and Liddell in double figures with 11 points, while Vouyoukas snagged 11 rebounds. Lafayette led the Cougars with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Thorpe added 16 points.
Saint Louis (13-8) returns to Atlantic 10 Conference play on Thu., Feb. 1, at Saint Joseph's. The 7:30 p.m. (CT) game will be shown on ESPN2.
