GAME DETAILS
Saint Louis 85, Hartford 68
Sunday, November 15, 2015 | 4 p.m.
Chaifetz Arena | St. Louis, Mo.

THE BASICS
Five Saint Louis players scored in double figures, and the Billikens shot 53 percent from the field in a season-opening 85-68 victory over Hartford Sunday at Chaifetz Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED
--A Hartford 3-pointer on the Hawks' first possession of the second half narrowed SLU's five-point halftime lead to a single bucket, but a 10-0 run gave the Billikens a 47-35 advantage.

--After another Hartford trey made it a single-digit game again, Saint Louis rattled off the next seven points for a 54-38 cushion with 12:57 remaining.

--Although the Billikens maintained a double-digit lead for most of the remainder of the contest, Hartford managed to whittle the gap to nine, 72-63, at the 4:02 mark. However, SLU allowed just one field goal the rest of the way and converted enough free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

--After six different Billikens scored in a 16-2 run to open the game, Hartford scored on five consecutive possessions to trim the SLU lead to 16-15.

--The game was tied at 18 before a 10-4 spurt put Saint Louis on top 28-22. Hartford responded with a 9-2 run to take its only lead, 31-30 with 4:38 left.

--The Billikens limited the Hawks to one point the rest of the first half, however, and took a 37-32 lead to the locker room.

BILLIKEN NOTABLES
--Mike Crawford scored a game-high 17 points. Crawford hit two of SLU's three 3-point baskets and was 7-of-8 from the foul line.

--Miles Reynolds (4-of-6 FG, 8-of-9 FT) scored all 16 of his points in the second half.

--Ash Yacoubou tallied 13 points, seven rebounds (three offensive) and three assists.

--Milik Yarbrough came off the bench to contribute 13 points (5-of-8 FG), seven rebounds and a game-high five assists.

--Reggie Agbeko (4-of-5 FG) tossed in 11 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Agbeko also had a career-high two blocks and tied his career high of two steals.

--The Billikens' 52.8 percent field goal mark included 57.7 percent in the second half.

--SLU had just seven turnovers to Hartford's 16. The Billikens outscored the Hawks 25-9 in points off turnovers.

--The Bills earned a 46-18 edge in points in the paint.

HARTFORD LEADERS
Pancake Thomas (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists); John Carroll (14 points); Justin Graham (13 points).

UP NEXT
The Billikens cross the Mississippi River to face SIUE Wednesday, Nov. 18. Game time is 7 p.m.