Philadelphia - Kevin Lisch poured in a game-high 22 points as the Saint Louis Billikens posted their first road win of the season 81-74 at La Salle at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. The 81 points scored were the most by the Billikens since tallying 83 against Furman on Nov. 17, 2007. The Billikens shot 63.0 percent from the field, including a sizzling 73.9 percent in the second half.

The Explorers scored the first five points of the game until Kevin Lisch scored in transition to cut the gap to 5-4. La Salle was up 8-4 before the Billikens scored eight straight points. Consecutive 3-pointers by Dwayne Polk and Meyer gave the Billikens their first lead 10-8. After a La Salle miss, Lisch sank a jumper in the paint for a 12-8 lead four minutes in and forcing an Explorers timeout.

La Salle inched back into the game and slowly moved out to a 22-18 lead. Bryce Husak and Lisch scored on two straight layups, then Meyer tallied on a backdoor cut to push the Billikens on top 24-22 with eight minutes left in the first half. The Explorers tied the game at 28, but then added five points in a row for a 33-28 lead. Lisch's long wing jumper ended the La Salle run, and Meyer scored his 11th point of the half to cut the lead to 33-32. Danny Brown's trey at the top of the key forged a 35-35 tie with 2:17 left before halftime. Lisch hit another trey from the top of the key with 33 seconds left for a 38-35 lead at the break. The SLU point total in the first half was the most since scoring 41 in the first 20 minutes against Houston Baptist.

Lisch began the second half the way he ended the first by hitting a trey to push the Billikens up 41-35. However, La Salle answered with six straight points to tie the game 41-41. III scored two straight hoops in traffic to put the Billikens up 45-41 three minutes into the half. The Billikens held onto the lead, and consecutive baskets by Husak and Lisch put SLU up 56-51 with just over 12 minutes left in the game. La Salle hit back-to-back 3-pointers to turn a 58-54 gap into a 60-58 lead midway through the half. The Billikens then responded with a 6-0 run. Barry Eberhardt scored on consecutive possessions for the Billikens as they answered to retake a 62-60 advantage. Meyer tacked on a jumper from the left to stretch the lead to four. The Explorers scored four in a row to tie the game, but Meyer had a shot in the lane ruled a goaltend for a 66-64 SLU lead. Liddell hit a leaner in the lane to restablish a four-point lead with 5:50 left. Lisch stole the ball and pulled up in traffic for a jumper that put the Billikens up 70-64. Meyer broke loose for an open jumper in the lane as the Billikens surged to a 72-64 lead with 4:08 left in the game. La Salle closed to 72-68, but Liddell converted from the left side for a 74-68 lead with 2:44 remaining. Liddell hit one free throw to push the Billikens up 75-70 at the 1:58 mark. La Salle missed and Meyer fought through traffic to haul in the rebound with 1:29 left. Polk went to the line for a one-and-one and hit both with 1:04 left. The Bills were still up 77-72 when Brown hit both ends of a one-and one with 42.7 seconds left to effectively end the game.

Lisch hit 10-of-17 from the field and also handed out a game-best six assists. Liddell scored all 11 of his points in the second half and snared a team-high seven rebounds. The Billikens were credited with 19 assists and only committed nine turnovers.

The Billikens improve to 11-8, 2-3 in the A-10. The Explorers dip to 7-11, 2-3 in the A-10. The Billikens are next in action on Wednesday, January 30, when they travel to Dayton for a 6 p.m. (CT) contest.