ST. LOUIS - Tommie Liddell IIIÂ scored a season-high 20 points, and Saint Louis overcame a seven-point deficit with sizzling second-half shooting to defeat Pacific 63-54 at the Scottrade Center Saturday night.
Liddell was 8-of-11 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and added three assists in 37 minutes. Kevin Lisch scored 11 points and Paul Eckerle added 10 for the Bills (5-2), who shot 52.4 percent for the game on the strength of a 65-percent effort (13-of-20) following intermission. It's the fifth time in six games Saint Louis has shot 50 percent or better from the floor.
It was the opposite for Pacific (4-2), who shot a respectable 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the first half but stumbled to just 34.8 percent (8-of-23) after halftime to finish at 41.2 percent for the game.
The Billikens claimed a 7-4 lead with 14:27 left in the first half on a jumper by Luke Meyer, a 3-pointer by Liddell III and a jumper by Lisch. The Tigers scored the next seven points to assume an 11-7 edge at the 11:30 mark, as Bryan LeDuc and C.J. Morgan hit jumpers and Joe Ford tallied a conventional 3-point play.
Two Meyer free throws ignited a 10-1 run that put Saint Louis up 17-12 with 7:15 to play. Eckerle canned a jumper and a layup, and Liddell III followed with a pair of buckets to give the Bills their largest lead of the opening stanza.
Saint Louis went cold after that, however, recording just two field goals and two free throws the rest of the half. In fact, the Billikens shot just 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from the floor, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range, and committed 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Steffan Johnson scored nine of his 11 first-half points and Chad Troyer registered all seven of his first-half markers in an 18-6 outburst that resulted in a 30-23 Tiger cushion at the break.
Pacific stretched its lead to eight in the early going of the second half before the Billikens went to work. Liddell III hit a jumper, then fed Barry Eberhardt with a no-look, behind-the-back pass for a layup that cut the Pacific lead to 32-28 at the 17:05 mark.
Anthony Brown's basket momentarily slowed the SLU momentum, but Liddell III quickly responded with a bucket and Eberhardt turned a steal into a dunk that pulled Saint Louis to within 34-32 with 15:44 to play.
Following a Joe Ford jumper, Liddell III buried a triple to trim the Tigers' margin to a single point, 36-35. After Ford scored again to make it a three-point contest, Lisch connected on a 3-pointer from the right wing to even things at 38 apiece with 13:30 left.
Bryce Husak, who gathered a career-high eight rebounds, hit a free throw seconds later to give Saint Louis the lead for good. Eckerle and Dwayne Polk followed with treys from the top of the key and left wing, respectively, and the Bills owned a 45-38 edge at the 10:26 mark.
Later, Saint Louis increased its lead to a game-high 54-41 with a 7-0 mini run. Eckerle hit a free throw, Lisch drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Liddell III took a pass from Eberhardt while streaking down the lane and converted it into a conventional 3-point play with 6:23 to play.
Pacific managed to slice the Saint Louis margin to seven points on two occasions and could have drawn closer had it not been for poor free-throw shooting. The Tigers went just 7-of-14 from the stripe in the second half and finished the game 9-of-17.
After a 6-0 spurt trimmed the Billiken lead to 56-49 at the 4:09 mark, a Liddell free throw and a jumper by Polk boosted the margin to double digits again. Troyer's 3-pointer with 32 seconds left made it 61-54, but Eckerle sank two free throws on the ensuing SLU possession and then blocked a Pacific 3-point attempt to ice the victory.
Meyer had six rebounds, while Eberhardt and Polk collected five caroms apiece as Saint Louis edged Pacific 31-28 on the glass. Lisch tallied three steals.
Johnson, who was held to just a pair of free throws in the second half, led Pacific with 13 points and six steals, and Troyer finished with 12 points. Michael Nunnally had eight rebounds.
The Billikens travel to Kent State on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. (CT) tipoff.
