ST. LOUIS - Bryce Husak and Barry Eberhardt turned in career-high scoring performances, and Saint Louis gradually pulled away in the closing minutes to register an 83-69 victory over Furman at Scottrade Center on Saturday.
The Billikens (4-1) eclipsed the 50-percent shooting mark for the fourth consecutive game, connecting on 28-of-49 for a 57.1-percent accuracy rate. The last time SLU made at least half of its shots in four successive outings was at the end of a stretch in which they accomplished the feat eight straight times, from Dec. 8, 1993, to Jan. 8, 1994.
Husak, who was 9-of-14 from the floor, poured in 20 points and grabbed six rebounds. Eberhardt added 15 points and six boards for the Bills, who were led by Kevin Lisch's game-high 23 points. Lisch converted 13-of-17 from the free throw line, part of SLU's 23-of-28 effort (82.1 percent), and added seven assists.
Luke Meyer scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, while III collected all of his eight points and game-high seven rebounds following intermission. SLU out-rebounded Furman by a decisive 34-21 count.
Furman (0-3) led 39-36 at halftime and increased the margin to 44-38 when Justin Dehm buried a 3-pointer less than two minutes into the second half. Saint Louis earned a 44-all tie at the 15:49 mark on a jumper by Eberhardt, a fast-break bucket by Liddell and another Liddell basket that followed Dwayne Polk's blocked shot.
The Paladins took a 48-44 edge on their next two possessions, but then the tide began to turn. Liddell turned his own offensive rebound into a layup, and Lisch hit a free throw and a jumper to put the Bills on top 49-48.
Furman would manage to lead once more, 53-52, with 12:11 to play before the Billikens surged ahead for good with a 7-0 spurt. Husak's layup sparked the run that also included a Lisch triple and a jumper in the paint by Eberhardt.
The Paladins didn't go away, though, and trailed just 64-63 when George Brozos nailed a 3-pointer with 5:10 remaining. But from that point on it was all Billikens, with Husak scoring six points in an 11-3 outburst that put SLU on top 75-66 with 1:15 left.
Both teams shot well in the first half. Furman connected at a 59.3-percent clip (16-of-27) that included a 6-of-10 performance from 3-point range, while Saint Louis shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) and drained 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Billikens offset the Paladins' 3-point shooting edge with a 9-of-10 effort from the foul line while limiting the visitors to 1-of-1 from the stripe.
Furman, a member of the Southern Conference, got a couple of baskets from Bobby Austin and a trey from Tony Anderson to claim an early 7-2 lead. Saint Louis responded with a 9-2 spurt consisting of an Eberhardt jumper, two Lisch free throws, a Husak layup and a Paul Eckerle 3-pointer for an 11-9 edge at the 13:25 mark.
Six lead changes followed in the next four minutes, with the Bills nudging ahead 17-16 on Eberhardt's tip-in and stretching the margin to three with a pair of free throws by Lisch. A 3-pointer by Austin pulled Furman even and ignited an 8-0 run that resulted in a 24-19 Paladin advantage with 6:51 left in the first half.
After Luke Meyer hit from downtown to cut the Furman lead to a deuce, Justin Dehm netted three of his 10 first-half points to ignite an 8-2 flurry that gave the Paladins their largest first-half cushion, 32-24. The Bills righted the ship, however, as Lisch tallied six points and Husak added four to help SLU outscore Furman 12-7 over the final four minutes and trim the Billiken deficit to 39-36 at the break. Lisch and Husak scored 10 points apiece in the first 20 minutes.
Brozos led Furman with 14 points, while Dehm scored 13 and Austin added 10. The Paladins slipped to 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from the floor in the second half to finish the game at 47.1 percent (24-of-51).
The Billikens travel to Missouri State on Wednesday to take on the Bears in a 7:05 p.m. tipoff.
