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ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis hit 52.9 percent of its shots from the field in the second half and nailed its free throws down the stretch to escape with a 63-58 victory over Richmond in its Atlantic 10 Conference opener at Chaifetz Arena Saturday afternoon. The Billikens (10-5, 1-0 A-10) held the Spiders (12-5, 1-1 A-10) to a 32.4 percent clip in the second period but were out-rebounded 25-13.
After the teams traded points to bring the score to 4-4, SLU put together a 9-2 run to claim a 13-6 lead. Christian Salecich's 3-pointer from the left corner sparked the rally with 17:04 left in the half, but Richmond's Kevin Anderson knocked down a shot from just inside the key to keep his team within one. Then Brian Conklin converted on a pair of three-point plays to give the Bills the seven-point advantage with 15:23 left.
The Spiders held Saint Louis scoreless for nearly three minutes, while they mounted a 9-0 charge to regain the lead. Anderson led Richmond with four points during the stretch, which put his team up 15-13 with 13:20 remaining before halftime. Cody Ellis' first points as a Billiken, on a baseline jumper, halted the rally and brought things even at 15-15 at the 12:49 mark.
Richmond tossed in back-to-back threes to break the tie. But the Bills out-scored the Spiders 9-2 over the next two minutes to retake the lead. A baseline jumper by Conklin kicked off the rally and was followed by a 3-pointer from Ellis, which trimmed the margin to 21-20 at the 8:44 mark. Salecich drained a pair of free throws after a Richmond score and Cory Remekun nailed a shot from the right elbow to put SLU on top 24-23 with 7:15 left in the first half.
The teams alternated one-point leads before Kwamain Mitchell made a fastbreak layup and knocked in a 3-pointer to give SLU the 33-27 edge with 19 seconds remaining before intermission. Richmond's Anderson buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Spiders' deficit to 33-30 at the break. UR shot at a 57.1 clip from the field, while the Billikens shot 50 percent in the opening half. SLU edged Richmond on the boards 15-12.
Neither team led by more than four points in the second half. The Bills led by as many as four points on four occasions, while the Spiders were only able to muster a lead of three points a little over four minutes into the second period. Saint Louis captured its first four-point edge when Kyle Cassity hit a free throw to open the second half. Richmond scored the next six points to go up 37-34 with 15:56 left in the game.
Mitchell collected a game-high 16 points, while Conklin added 12 and Ellis chipped in 10 points to go with a team high five rebounds. Anderson tied for team-high honors for Richmond with 13 points to go with four assists, while David Gonzalvez also contributed 13 points. Darrius Garrett led all players with 10 rebounds.
