ST. LOUIS - Senior center Ian Vouyoukas (Athens, Greece) poured in a game-high 16 points to lead Saint Louis to a 63-53 victory over Atlantic 10 Conference co-leader George Washington Saturday afternoon at Scottrade Center. Sophomore guard Tommie Liddell (East St. Louis, Ill./Hargrove) posted his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds to help the Billikens (15-8, 5-4 A-10) pull above .500 in A-10 play for the first time this season. George Washington dips to 15-6 overall and 6-3 in the A-10.
Vouyoukas reeled off seven straight points for the Bills at the start, but George Washington was clicking on all cylinders in the first half and stretched out a 28-17 lead on a Maureece Rice jumper with 2:40 left in the stanza. SLU answered with a 3-pointer from junior guard Dwayne Polk (St. Louis, Mo./Vashon), and SLU's defense held GW without a field goal the rest of the half.
With the GW offense in check, Liddell personally chipped away at the score. He hit four straight free throws before driving to the rim and converting on a floater as the horn sounded. Liddell's six-point scoring punch to end the half trimmed GW's 11-point lead to just four at 30-26 at halftime.
Junior guard Luke Meyer (Washington, Mo./Borgia) hit the first five points of the second half, including a 3-pointer at the 18:14 mark to give the Billikens their first lead since early in the first half. However, the lead was short lived as George Washington hit its next three shots to push its lead back to five points.
In the ensuing two minutes, Vouyoukas connected on 5-of-6 attempts from the charity stripe, and his foul shots at the 12:49 mark knotted the game at 38. Junior center Bryce Husak (Mt. Vernon, Iowa/Mt. Vernon), who spelled Vouyoukas after his game-tying free throws, gave the Billikens a lead they would not relinquish on a jumper at the 11:59 mark.
The Billikens were able to protect their advantage thanks to efficient free-throw shooting down the stretch. After claiming the lead on Husak's bucket, the Bills converted on 13-of-16 from the line to fight off several George Washington rallies. Rice hit a 3-ball with 3:06 left to pull within four, but Liddell answered on the other end with a slam off an offensive rebound, bringing the Scottrade Center crowd of 8,744 to its feet. SLU enhanced its cushion when Polk, off a steal, drove the length of a court for a layup with 1:26 left to give the Billikens a six-point lead. Meyer, Liddell and Lisch combined for the final six points at the line to lift the Billikens to the 10-point victory.
Vouyoukas hit 4-of-7 from the field and nailed 7-of-8 chances from the line for his 16 points, marking the 15th time this season he scored in double figures. Meyer posted 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and brought down six rebounds. Liddell's 13 points came on 3-of-12 shooting from the field and a 7-of-8 mark from the line. Sophomore guard Kevin Lisch (Belleville, Ill./Althoff), who played with a heavily bandaged shooting hand after injuring it against Saint Joseph's, scored 10 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Overall, the Billikens shot 40 percent from the floor and 86 percent from the line.
Rob Diggs and Carl Elliot each registered 12 points for the Colonials, who dropped their second-straight conference game after shooting 41 percent from the field and 23 percent from 3-point range.
Saint Louis, which has won three of its last four games, will put a three-game A-10 winning streak on the line when it travels to Xavier on Wednesday. Tipoff from Cintas Center is slated for 6 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on FSN Ohio.
