ST. LOUIS –
Jordan Goodwin posted game highs in points, assists and steals and recorded his 32nd career double-double to lead Saint Louis to a 67-60 victory over Rhode Island Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
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The Billikens' second consecutive win lifted them to 9-3 overall and 2-2 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Rhode Island slipped to 9-12, 6-8 with its fourth straight loss.
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Goodwin led all players with 17 points, six steals (tying his career high) and six assists, and he pulled down 11 rebounds.
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Javonte Perkins tossed in 16 points, including 12 in the second half, while
Hasahn French just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds, matching his season best on the glass.
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Gibson Jimerson scored eight of his 13 points in the second half, and
Fred Thatch Jr. collected all nine of his points after the break.
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SLU held Rhode Island to a season-low 32.8 percent from the field. The Billikens committed a season-low four turnovers, leading to a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
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Jeremy Sheppard had 16 points, Fatts Russell registered 15 points and seven rebounds, and Makhel Mitchell contributed 10 points and eight rebounds for Rhode Island.
Rhode Island narrowed a six-point halftime deficit to two less than two minutes into the second half, but the Rams would draw no closer. Saint Louis scored the next five points to lead 32-25 with 15:50 left.
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Two Goodwin free throws at the 12:40 mark gave the Billikens their first double-digit lead, 42-31. Jimerson answered a Rhody 3-pointer with one of his own, and after another Rams' trey, two free throws and a triple by Perkins upped the lead to 50-37 with 10:59 remaining.
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Rhode Island drew no closer than nine points until the game was out of reach with less than 30 seconds to play.
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After Saint Louis gained an 8-5 lead, Rhode Island connected three times from beyond the arc in an 11-0 spurt that put the Rams on top 16-8.
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The Billikens answered with a 13-0 flurry of their own. Jimerson ignited the run with a 3-pointer and a jumper, and Goodwin followed with two triples sandwiched around a pullup jumper to put SLU in front 21-16 with 5:32 left.
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The lead alternated between three and five points until Perkins scored with 10 seconds remaining for a 27-20 advantage. A Rhode Island free throw with less than a second left provided the halftime score.
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The Billikens play at Fordham Saturday, Feb. 13, at 2:30 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.