Bowling Green, Ohio - Ohio native Jon Smith, playing in his home state, hit all five shots and finished with 11 points and four blocks, but a late Saint Louis rally fell short 59-50 at Bowling Green Saturday evening. The game was the final non-conference test of the season for the Billikens, who open Atlantic 10 Conference play at home Saturday, Jan. 9, against Richmond.

The Falcons scored the first nine points of the game before a long Justin Jordan scored in transition, and Cassity's baseline jumper at the buzzer brought SLU to 24-15 at intermission. The Billikens struggled with BGSU's zone and hit only one of eight from 3-point range in the first half. Smith, who had scored 13 points all season, hit all four of his shots from the field before intermission.

The Billikens cut the deficit to seven on three occasions, and were down just 29-22 after a Femi John jumper with 15 minutes left to play. However, the Falcons used a 17-4 run to take control of the contest. Willie Reed and a trey by Christian Salecich trimmed the deficit to 50-37 with just over three minutes left to play. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jordan and Salecich drew SLU to 58-48 as the game entered the final minute. Salecich was fouled on a long 3-pointer and hit two of three from the line to get the Billikens to within single digits and the final nine-point margin.

The Billikens fall to 9-5, while the Falcons improve to 7-5. Mitchell led the Billikens with 13 points. Smith, who had scored 13 points all season, finished with a career-best 11 points and added four rebounds. The Bills held BGSU to just 40.4 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers, but managed just a 37.8 percent mark themselves.