ST. LOUIS – Dion Brown and Trey Green produced season scoring highs, Saint Louis recorded a season-high 13 3-pointers, and the Billikens rolled to a 91-60 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne Friday night at Chaifetz Arena in the first of three games in the Acrisure Invitational.
 
The Billikens improved to 5-0 for the first time since the 2020-21 team began the season 6-0. Purdue Fort Wayne fell to 2-5.
 
Brown netted 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line, part of SLU's 16-of-17 effort at the stripe; the Billikens have made 99 of 119 free throw attempts (83.2 percent) on the season. Green, who was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, tallied 14 points.
 
Robbie Avila, who also buried four treys (4-of-5), had 12 points and a game- and season-high five assists. Paul Otieno finished with a season-high nine points on 6-of-6 free throws and a 3-pointer.
 
Saint Louis was 13-of-31 (41.9 percent) from beyond the arc, reaching double digits in 3-point field goals for a fourth straight game.
 
Amari McCottry collected a game-high and career-high-tying 10 rebounds to lead the Billikens to a 50-24 advantage on the glass. McCottry also matched his season best of four assists. Kellen Thames grabbed a season-high eight boards.
 
Saint Louis never trailed, and a 7-7 tie was the game's only deadlock. Purdue Fort Wayne stayed close until a 10-0 Billiken run made it 24-12 at the 11:04 mark of the first half.
 
The Mastodons of the Horizon League narrowed the gap to single digits twice, but Ishan Sharma's 3-pointer pushed SLU's lead to double digits for good, 29-18, with 8:19 remaining. The margin reached 16 points five times before the Billikens settled for a 44-29 halftime cushion.
 
SLU wasted no time putting the game out of reach following the break. The Bills connected on their first nine shots, including five from beyond the arc, to build their largest lead of the night, 70-35, with 12:31 to play. The margin remained above 30 points for most of the remainder of the game.
 
The Acrisure Invitational shifts to Palm Desert, Calif., for the next two games. Saint Louis takes on Santa Clara Thursday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m. Central in a game that will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The following day, the Billikens will face either Stanford or Minnesota (time TBA) on TruTV.