ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis rallied from a 17-point deficit to make it a one-possession game in the final minute, but Sam Houston State hit a clutch 3-pointer with 20 seconds left and held on for a 61-53 victory Saturday night at Scottrade Center.

Sam Houston State improved to 8-0, continuing its best start since become an NCAA Division I member. Meanwhile, Saint Louis (6-5) lost for a third time in four outings and saw its 11-game home winning streak snapped.

Trailing 49-32 with 7:06 left, Saint Louis began its charge. Tommie Liddell III, who led the Billikens with 17 points, made a driving layup to ignite a 21-7 run that whittled the Sam Houston State lead to three points.

Liddell III followed with a free throw and a driving, off-balance layup to cut the SHSU advantage to 49-37 at the 5:12 mark. Following a 3-pointer by Shamir McDaniel, Luke Meyer and Liddell hit two free throws apiece on successive possessions to make it a 52-41 game with 3:23 left.

After Liddell III made a driving layup, Kevin Lisch converted an SHSU backcourt turnover into a traditional 3-point play to pull the Bills to within 53-46 at the 2:59 mark. Liddell III sank a pair from the line to make it 53-48, and after DeLuis Ramirez scored for Sam Houston State, Lisch nailed a triple from the right corner on a baseline out-of-bounds play to narrow the Bearkats' lead to 55-51 with 1:25 remaining.

The Billikens made it a one-possession affair, 56-53, when Liddell III grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. But McDaniel, who was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, buried his most important trey of the night with just a couple of ticks left on the shot clock, and 20 seconds left on the game clock, to put Sam Houston State back in command.

Ice-cold shooting plagued Saint Louis in the first half as the Billikens connected on just 7-of-29 (24.1 percent) from the floor. Sam Houston State shot just 39.4 percent (13-of-33), but the Bearkats sank 6-of-10, including a pair of 3-pointers, over the final 5:25 to take a 31-22 lead to the locker room.

Bryce Husak kept the Bills somewhat close in the opening period, scoring nine points including a career-best five free throws (5-of-6). Husak also grabbed six rebounds in the first half. Meyer's top-of-the-key triple with three seconds left allowed Saint Louis to lower its deficit to single digits at the break.

The Billikens shot a season-low 29.3 percent (17-of-58) from the floor and were edged 41-38 on the boards. Saint Louis tied its season low with eight turnovers.

Lisch scored 14 points and Husak tallied 13 points and tied for game-high rebounding honors with eight boards. Dwayne Polk collected seven rebounds and five assists.

Ramirez led all players with 18 points and added eight rebounds. McDaniel had 13 points and seven rebounds, and John Gardiner added 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Billikens continue their four-game homestand next Saturday, Dec. 15, against Southern Illinois. Game time at Scottrade Center is 6:30 p.m.