St. Louis - Saint Louis hit four straight 3-pointers to open the second half and took control en route to a 71-61 victory over Southern Illinois at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday night. The win snapped a three-game skid for the Billikens as they improved to 5-3 on the season. The Salukis fall to 3-2.

The Billikens trailed at intermission 31-30, but Femi John drained a 3-pointer to ignite the SLU run. Christian Salecich swished a long shot from the right, and Mitchell's second 3-pointer pushed the Billikens to a 42-33 lead. SIU cut the deficit to five, but consecutive jumpers from Mitchell and Salecich restored a comfortable margin for the Bills.

Southern Illinois drew to 52-46 with 9:34 left to play in the game, but the Billikens went on an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the evening, 60-48. The Billikens held a 64-52 margin with just under two minutes left to play and sealed the victory with eight free throws down the stretch.

Mitchell led the Billikens with 22 points, the most by a SLU player this season, and handed out five assists. Reed notched his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The sophomore forward also rejected four shots. The Billikens forced SIU into shooting just 34.4 percent from the field, including 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) from 3-point range. The game drew a season-best 9,483 fans to Chaifetz Arena.

The Billikens take a break for finals and do not play again until Saturday, Dec. 12, when Rockhurst comes to town for a 7 p.m. contest.