ST. LOUIS – Robbie Avila led five Saint Louis double-figure scorers with a season-high 20 points, and the Billikens set one offensive school record and tied another in a 102-79 rout of Saint Joseph's Wednesday afternoon in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams before a crowd of 9,218 at Chaifetz Arena.
 
The Billikens improved to 13-1, their best start since the 1993-94 team won its first 14 games. SLU stretched its overall winning streak to seven games and its Chaifetz Arena winning streak to 14, extending a school record.
 
The offensive outburst was fueled largely by 3-point shooting. The Billikens buried a school-record 19 treys (19-of-32, 59.4 percent), most by an A-10 team this season. The long-range performance was part of SLU's 38-of-60 (63.3 percent) overall shooting.
 
The 102 points match the school record for points in an A-10 game. The Bills extended school marks by scoring 100 or more points for a sixth time in a season and by scoring 85 or more points for a seventh consecutive game.
 
The Billikens assisted on 25 of their 38 field goals and committed only seven turnovers – their fourth time in single digits this season, all in the last six games.
 
Avila, who also dished out a career-high-tying and game-high eight assists, was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
 
Quentin Jones' 17-point effort included 3-of-4 from distance, while Ishan Sharma equaled career bests of 16 points and five 3-pointers (5-of-8). Trey Green scored all 12 of his points from 3-point range (4-of-5), and Brady Dunlap tossed in 10 points, grabbed a season-high-tying six rebounds and tied his career high of four assists.
 
Kellen Thames finished with nine points, a team-high-tying six rebounds, a season-high-tying three assists and two steals. Paul Otieno contributed nine points, four rebounds and a career-high-tying four assists.
 
The first half featured 13 lead changes in the first eight minutes. A Jones 3-pointer put Saint Louis in front to stay, 22-20, at the 12:07 mark.
 
The margin hovered between two and seven points until Dion Brown's layup in the final seconds of the first half put the Billikens on top 49-40 heading into the locker room.
 
Saint Louis wasted no time taking command in the second half. The Billikens connected from the arc on their first two possessions, the second a triple by Dunlap that put the lead in double digits for good, 55-43.
 
SLU gradually pulled away from there. Green's 3-pointer with 15:03 remaining gave the Billikens their first 20-point cushion, 69-49, and the lead swelled to 28 prior to the final 23-point spread.
 
The Billikens' next game features the top two teams in the A-10 preseason poll. VCU edged Saint Louis by one point in the poll, with both teams garnering 11 first-place votes.
 
The Bills and Rams clash Wednesday, Jan. 7, in Richmond, Va., with tip time scheduled for 6 p.m. Central. The game will be carried by CBS Sports Network.