ST. LOUIS – Gibson Jimerson scored a career-high 35 points, Robbie Avila and Isaiah Swope combined for 39 more, and Saint Louis concluded the regular season with a 90-88 overtime victory over Duquesne Saturday night in front of 8.421 fans at Chaifetz Arena.
 
SLU improved to 18-13 overall and 11-7 in the Atlantic 10 Conference with its fourth win in five games. The Billikens tied Saint Joseph's for fifth place in the A-10. Duquesne fell to 13-18, 8-10.
 
Saint Louis is the No. 5 seed for the A-10 Championship, which begins Wednesday, March 12, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The Billikens have a first-round bye and will face the winner of the first-round game between No. 12 Davidson and No. 13 Richmond Thursday, March 13, at 1 p.m. Central. The game will be televised on USA Network.
 
Jimerson sank a career-high 14 field goals (14-of-20) and was 4-of-8 from 3-point range. He also tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds, matching his season best.
 
Avila, who was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, tallied 22 points. He grabbed seven rebounds, tied his career high with a game-high three blocks, made a game-high-tying three steals and added four assists.
 
Swope scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and overtime. He equaled his season high of five rebounds and tied Kobe Johnson for team-high honors with five assists. Johnson's five helpers matched his season high.
 
The Billikens shot 59.3 percent (35-of-59) from the field overall and 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from 3-point range. SLU earned a 34-30 edge on the boards.
 
Saint Louis trailed 80-74 after Duquesne's Tre Dinkins hit a jumper with 41 seconds left in the second half. Swope then went to work from beyond the arc, drilling two treys sandwiched around a Duquesne turnover in a span of just seven seconds.
 
Duquesne's potential game-winning 3-point attempt was off the mark, and SLU headed into its second overtime contest of the season.
 
In the extra session, the Billikens gained a two-point lead twice but trailed 85-84 after Maximus Edwards connected from the arc with 1:45 remaining.
 
Swope answered immediately with a triple of his own at the 1:31 mark that put Saint Louis on top for good, and Avila connected from deep for a 90-85 lead with 36 seconds to play. The Bills made a stop on Duquesne's next possession, making a Dukes 3-pointer at the buzzer meaningless.
 
The first half featured 12 lead changes. A 9-0 run gave Saint Louis its largest lead of the game, 27-19, with 9:26 left, but Duquesne outscored the Bills 21-11 the rest of the half to take a 40-38 lead to the locker room.
 
Duquesne led 46-40 two minutes into the second half. After SLU scored six quick points to draw even, Duquesne regained the upper hand at the 16:06 mark. Except for brief ties at 63, 65 and 67, and the final deadlock of 80 at the buzzer, the Dukes led for most of the remainder of the second half.