ST. LOUIS — Freshman Milik Yarbrough scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, but Rhode Island beat the Billikens 65-53 Saturday afternoon at Chaifetz Arena.
Saint Louis fell to 8-6 overall (0-1 Atlantic 10), and the Rams won their fourth straight in improving to 9-3 (1-0 A-10). It was SLU's first loss in an A-10 opener since the 2011-12 season, while Rhode Island ended a seven-game conference-opener losing streak.
In addition to his game-high 19 points, Yarbrough pulled down a game-high-tying eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end. Yarbrough has been on a roll as of late, as he notched a then-career-high 13 points in the Bills' last game against Vanderbilt. Prior to that, Yarbrough posted his first career double-double in a SLU win over Vermont.
Ash Yacoubou recorded 11 points and seven rebounds, and Mike Crawford chipped in 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting off the bench. John Manning earned four blocks.
Hassan Martin scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to pace the Rams. He also snagged eight rebounds and blocked four shots. Gilvydas Biruta notched 14 points, E.C. Matthews had 12 and Biggie Minnis added 10 to give Rhode Island four players in double figures.
Saint Louis jumped out to an 8-2 advantage and held its biggest lead of the game, 23-15, with 5:45 to go in the first half. Rhode Island countered with an 11-1 run to grab its first lead of the contest, 26-24. The teams headed to the locker room with the score knotted at 27-apiece.
An Austin McBroom 3-pointer coupled with a Yarbrough lay-in put the Bills up 37-32 at the 16:50 mark. Yarbrough proceeded to score Saint Louis's next 11 points, but that coincided with a 27-11 stretch for the Rams that put the game out of reach.
After completing a 3-3 homestand, the Billikens will play their first road game in exactly one month when they travel to Washington, D.C., to take on George Washington (11-3, 1-0 A-10) on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Tip time is slated for 6 p.m. CST, and the contest will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
