DAYTON, Ohio - Career nights from Ian Vouyoukas and Luke Meyer could not overcome the clutch shooting of Brian Roberts as the Saint Louis Billikens fell 65-64 in double overtime at Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season finale. Vouyoukas hit the 1,000 career point plateau with a career-high 28, while Meyer snagged a career-high 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. Both players ended the night with double-doubles, but Roberts netted the Flyers' final five points to power his club to victory.
After leading for the first 27 minutes of the game, the Billikens had to fight back late in the contest. Andres Sandoval hit a 3-pointer to give UD its first lead with 12:32 remaining. Neither team could wrest control of the game, though, as the lead see-sawed back and forth through five ties. Kevin Lisch broke the tie with a tough jumper in traffic in the lane with 21 seconds on the clock. After a UD timeout, Roberts dove out of bounds to save an errant pass on the baseline, and the Billikens forced Marcus Johnson into an off-balance jumper at the free-throw line extended. The shot caromed off to the left where Norman Plummer and Tommie Liddell battled for the ball. Liddell was called for the foul, and Plummer's free throws sent the game to overtime.
The Billikens won the tip, and Meyer hit a jumper from the left side. Roberts answered with a cold-blooded floater as the shot clock expired. The Flyers' leading scorer netted both ends of a one-and-one for a 51-49 lead with three minutes left. Vouyoukas answered with a jump hook from the right side. Lisch grabbed Charles Little's errant jumper and drove down the court, getting fouled at the bucket. The Billiken sophomore hit one of two free throws with 2:08 remaining, then put the Bills up 54-51 with a 15-footer from the right side with the shot clock winding down.
The Flyers called timeout with just over one minute left, setting up Sandoval for a step-back 3-pointer to knot things up. Lisch misfired on a 3-pointer with 30 seconds on the clock, and Meyer battled for the rebound and a chance at the last shot. The Flyers forced a turnover on the Bills final drive, however, and Little scrambled down the court for a dunk with six seconds left. Liddell triggered the inbound pass to Danny Brown who flew down the right side line all the way to the basket for a short floater, sending the game to a second OT.
SLU again took the early lead in OT on Vouyoukas' layin off Lisch's baseline drive. After Sandoval drove in for a game-tying layup, Plummer muscled up a put-back for a 60-58 lead. Vouyoukas again had the answer and completed a traditional three-point play for a 61-60 Billiken advantage with 1:14 left. Roberts drilled a 3-pointer off a screen at the top of the key with 47 seconds on the clock. Vouyoukas was fouled on the next trip down the floor and pulled the Bills within one at 62-63 with one of two free throws with 29 ticks on the clock.
Roberts brought the ball of the left side and drew a foul, hitting both free throws to put the Flyers back up three points. Calling their last time out, the Billikens got a look for Lisch, but his 3-pointer rimmed out. Meyer again secured the offensive rebound and was fouled in the process. He hit both free throws for a 64-65 deficit with just seven seconds on the clock. The Billikens send Sandoval to the line for a pair of free throws, and the Flyers' guard missed both. The players batted the rebound around for several seconds before Brown reeled it in and sped of the sideline in the hope of repeating his heroics. The junior guard got just outside the lane on the right side, but his shot would not fall as time expired.
Vouyoukas added 11 rebounds to his 12-of-20 shooting effort as his 28 points led all scorers. Meyer netted 11 points in addition to his 14 rebounds, collecting his first career double-double. Lisch rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15. Defensively, the Billikens held Dayton to just 37.3 percent shooting, but Roberts netted nine of his team-high 16 points in the overtime periods to drive the victory.
The Billikens (18-12, 8-8 A-10) travel to Atlantic City, N.J. for the A-10 Tournament, beginning Wed., Mar. 7, Finishing tied with Dayton for seventh place in the league, the Billikens will face No. 10 seed Duquesne in the 5:30 p.m. (CT) game.
