ST. LOUIS - Kent State's Al Fisher scored 35 points, including all but one of his team's 26 points in the final 10 minutes of the game, as the Golden Flashes handed Saint Louis its first loss in Chaifetz Arena, 76-74 in overtime on Wednesday evening in front of 6,434 fans. Turnovers cost the Billikens (1-1) as KSU scored 18 points on 18 SLU turnovers.
The Golden Flashes (2-0) scored the first four points of the game on Al Fisher's pull up jumper at the free-throw line and Julian Sullinger's bucket in the lane. Kevin Lisch scored his first points of the season a three pointer from the top of the key with 18:07 remaining in the half to trim the margin to one. But Kent State's Anthony Simpson chipped in two buckets off the bench to push his team's lead back out to five points.
III knocked down a pair of free throws and Lisch hit a pull up jumper from the right elbow with a little over 14 minutes left to again cut the deficit to one. However, Saint Louis was then held scoreless for nearly six minutes as the Golden Flashes went on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 13-7.
Liddell III and Barry Eberhardt combined for seven points to help SLU take its first lead of the night. Liddell III scored on a traditional three-point play, Eberhardt added a baseline basket and Liddell followed with a baseline jumper and a pair of free throws to give SLU a 16-15 edge with 5:08 left in the half. The teams traded baskets for the ensuing two and a half minutes until the Golden Flashes scored the final four points of the opening stanza to go into the locker room with a 24-20 edge. Kent State scored 11 points off Saint Louis' 13 turnovers before the break, but SLU was able to stay close due to the Golden Flashes' 34.3 shooting percentage.
Kent State remained ahead after the break before Saint Louis made a push. Lisch started a 10-0 spurt with a floater in the lane at the 17:10 mark, and Kwamain Mitchell hit a shot from the baseline to knot the score at 30-30. Eberhardt knocked down a pair of free throws and a jump shot, while Brian Conklin added a layup to give SLU a 36-30 edge with 13:33 remaining.
KSU outscored the Billikens 8-2 over the next minute and a half to tie things up at 38-38. SLU's Willie Reed threw down a dunk off a pass from Eberhardt but the Golden Flashes came right back with a layup and a free throw to go up by one. Lisch added a three points but Fisher knocked down a shot from just inside the three-point line to make it 43-43. Then Lisch drained a three from the corner with 8:37 to go, but the lead did not last as Kent State scored the next five points for a two-point edge.
The Billikens held KSU scoreless for the next three minutes as Conklin scored three points on an and-one situation and Liddell III and Mitchell hit consecutive charity tosses to make it 51-48 with 4:49 left. Neither team led by more than two points after that as they were forced to go to overtime to decide a winner. Fisher single-handedly kept his team in the game as its only scorer, with nine tallies, in the final 4:21.
Saint Louis did not lead in the overtime period until Lisch hit a pair of free throws with 2:18 left. Less than a minute later, he gave the Bills their largest lead of the extra period on a three pointer, but Fisher outscored SLU 7-3 in the final 1:25 to help his team to the win. Liddell III posted a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bills, while Lisch led the team with 22 tallies. Conklin chipped in 10 points.
SLU returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 22, with a 1 p.m. game against Boston College. The game will be televised locally on CW11/KPLR.
