ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis shot a blistering 63.3 percent from the field and scored 54 points in the second half, including an 8-2 spurt over the final 1:07, to secure an 85-75 victory over San Francisco Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena.
 
The Billikens improved to 9-1, their best 10-game record since the 2011-12 team posted the same mark. San Francisco of the West Coast Conference slipped to 6-5.
 
Amari McCottry led four Billikens in double figures with 18 points and added five rebounds. Dion Brown (6-of-8 FG) registered his second double-double, and third double-digit rebound game, of the season with 14 points and a game-high 11 boards.
 
Kellen Thames and Ishan Sharma tallied 10 points, five rebounds and three assists apiece. Quentin Jones had a game-high-tying four assists.
 
Saint Louis out-rebounded San Francisco, which came in +5.2 in rebound margin, 44-33. The 85 points are the most the Dons have allowed this season.
 
SLU earned advantages of 46-22 in points in the paint and 12-3 in fast-break points. The Bills committed just nine turnovers, their second straight single-digit total.
 
The Billikens matched their largest lead of the game, 71-59, on Robbie Avila's basket with 4:45 remaining. San Francisco followed with a 14-6 run that narrowed the lead to 77-73 at the 1:17 mark.
 
Brown's three-point play just 10 seconds later put SLU on the path to regaining command. Sharma's bucket and a fast-break dunk by Brown with 32 ticks left put the game on ice at 84-73.
 
San Francisco scored the first points of the game and, except for two ties, remained on top for most of the first half. Its largest lead was 26-18 with under five minutes to play.
 
Saint Louis bounced back, outscoring the Dons 13-4 over the final 4:31. Sharma netted five points during the run, including two free throws with four seconds left that gave the Billikens their first lead, 31-30, heading into intermission.
 
SLU extended the run to 19-4 by scoring the first six points of the second half. The margin floated between one and seven points until Thames' layup made it 63-54. A Brady Dunlap 3-pointer increased the lead to 66-54 with 8:33 to play.
 
Up next for the Bills is Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. It's the second half of a doubleheader that also features the Saint Louis women vs. Jacksonville State at 4 p.m.