AMHERST, Mass. – Saint Louis scored seven points over the final 37 seconds, punctuated by a go-ahead 3-pointer by Isaiah Swope with 9.3 seconds left, as the Billikens escaped the Mullins Center with a 73-71 win over UMass Tuesday in Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball action.
The Billikens improved to 14-9 overall and 7-3 in A-10 play. UMass dipped to 10-13 and 5-5 in the league.
Swope finished with a game-high 20 points, while Gibson Jimerson scored 18. Kobe Johnson chipped in with 11 points.
Kalu Anya posted nine points, five rebounds and a team-best five assists. Amari McCottry scored seven points, added six rebounds and posted three steals. The freshman came up big late on both ends of the floor to help SLU secure the win.
Saint Louis trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half and was playing without Robbie Avila, who fouled out with 8:31 remaining in the game.
But a quick 7-0 run by the Billikens, jumpstarted by a Jimerson trey, put the Billikens right back into the game.
Neither team was able to separate, setting up the game-deciding run by the Billikens to end it.
UMass was up by five in the final minute of play. With 42 seconds left, McCottry recorded a steal, and Swope converted a drive on the ensuing possession to put the Billikens down by three.
After UMass missed the front-end of a 1-and-1, McCottry got the rebound and Anya hit a layup and the Bills were down by one.
Another McCottry steal gave the Billikens the ball with the chance at the lead. Swope's first 3-point attempt of the possession was off the mark and McCottry corralled the rebound. He passed to Swope at the top of the key, and Swope drilled the second chance home for the eventual game-winning basket.
There was still 9.3 second remaining. UMass leading scorer Rashool Diggins drove the length of the floor with a chance to tie, but Anya blocked his shot at the buzzer and the Bills escaped their final game at the Mullins Center in an A-10 game with the win.
The Billikens led 12-2 at the start. Johnson and Jimerson nailed back-to-back 3-pointers as part of a 8-0 run in the opening minutes.
UMass responded by scoring the next six points. The Minutemen grabbed their first lead of the game with 40 seconds left in the first half on a drive by former Billiken Daniel Rivera. Out of a SLU timeout, Swope then dialed in a 3-pointer from the top of the key to send the Bills into the locker room with a 35-33 halftime lead. Swope led all scorers with 10 points at the break.
SLU returns to action on Friday night when it takes on Saint Joseph's at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia. Game time on ESPNU is set for 8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET.
