AMHERST, Mass. - Saint Louis battled league-leading Massachusetts down to the wire but fell to the Minutemen 53-50 in Atlantic 10 action at Mullins Center. It was the second-straight year the two teams played down to the last possession, and the home team prevailed in each nail-biter. Senior Ian Vouyoukas scored a game-high 18 points, including a go-ahead free throw with 26 seconds remaining. UMass' James Life added game-deciding free throws of his own to deliver the win.
After taking a 22-20 lead into halftime, the Minutemen built the advantage to seven midway through the second period. SLU answered with a 15-foot jumper from Luke Meyer, who then grabbed a defensive rebound in heavy traffic and fed Kevin Lisch for a 3-pointer to pull the Bills within two at 39-37 with 10:27 to play.
Danny Brown's 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down knifed into a five-point UMass lead with 5:12 remaining. Then the league's top two defenses, who had lived up to their reputations all night, shined especially bright at crunch time. After the Minutmen misfired on the other end, Stephane Lasme fouled Meyer on the rebound, giving the Bills the first of two similar chances to tie things up. UMass clamped down defensively both times. With the Minutemen looking to capitalize on the missed opportunities, Vouyoukas blocked Gary Forbes' drive, and Brown was fouled as he led the Bills out on the break. Hitting both ends of a one-and-one, he knotted the game at 43-43 with 3:44 left.
The Billiken defense focused on the powerful UMass inside game, leaving Chris Lowe alone for a 3-pointer just 15 seconds later. Meyer answered with another mid-range jumper to cut the deficit to 45-46. He then pulled down the rebound on Lowe's driving lay-up attempt. Tommie Liddell, playing through a toe injury suffered against Dayton on Wednesday night, gave the Bills their first lead of the second half with the transition lay-up.
On the other end, Forbes misfired on a jumper, and Liddell leapt for the rebound. Falling over a Minuteman defender as he landed, Liddell was called for traveling. Life took advantage of the second chance with an area-code 3-pointer, his lone bucket of the game, to give UMass a 49-47 lead with 1:38 and bring the UMass faithful to a deafening roar.
After Liddell could not connect, the Billiken interior defense forced Lasme into a pair of misses from point-blank range with Lisch finally securing the rebound with 46 seconds on the clock. Meyer fed Vouyoukas who hit a jump hook from the right side while being fouled by Rashaun Freeman. The Billiken center completed the traditional three-point play for a 50-49 SLU lead with 26 ticks on the clock.
The Minutemen attacked quickly with Life driving to the basket and getting fouled with 15 seconds left. He hit both free throws to put his team back on top 51-50. The Billikens set up the last play for Liddell, who was meant to work with Meyer at the top of the key. As the sophomore guard worked the clock for the last shot, Forbes gambled and picked up the steal and seal the victory for the Minutemen.
The Billikens shot 47.8 percent in the second half, but hit just 2-of-10 from 3-point range and were hampered by 18 turnovers. Defensively, SLU allowed UMass to shoot just 29.5 percent for the game. Vouyoukas' 18 points came on 6-of-11 shooting and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. His five rebounds were one shy of team-high honors, while Lisch and Liddell shared. Lisch added 10 points and a game-high six assists.
Saint Louis returns to action on Wed., Feb. 28, against Richmond. Tipoff for the final regular-season game at Scottrade Center is set for 7 p.m. with a ceremony to honor the team's three seniors scheduled for approximately 15 minutes prior.
