St. Thomas, V.I. - Saint Louis senior guard Reggie Bryant tossed in 16 points, grabbed six boards and handed out six assists as the Billikens knocked off Troy 63-55 tonight in the fifth place game in the Paradise Jam at the University of the Virgin Islands. It was the first win of the season for the Billikens (1-2).
"It felt good for Reggie, because I know he was frustrated with the first two games," Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg said. "At least we got one win out of here before we head for home."
In the opening half, Troy came out firing treys and jumped to an 8-2 lead. But the Billikens kept pressuring on the perimeter to keep the Trojans at a slower pace than usual. The Billikens held Troy scoreless for nearly six minutes and eventually grabbed the lead on senior forward Izik Ohanon's jumper at the 8:11 mark, giving SLU a 15-14 advantage. Trojans forward Antoine Ransom drained a triple at the halftime horn as Troy knotted the game at 23.
The Billikens kept control of the game's tempo throughout the second half and built a 42-34 lead on senior center Tom Frericks' free throw. The Trojans continued to fire from long range as nine of their 11 second-half baskets were triples, and Troy pulled within 49-48 on forward Eddie Baker's second straight trey.
The Billikens' bench took over as freshman Danny Brown and junior Vas'shun Newborne scored the SLU's next 11 points with Newborne capping the run with his first career triple. Bryant knocked down three of four free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
The Bills held an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting for the third straight game as Troy shot just 36.2 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from threeland. The Trojans shot only one free throw and made it. The Bills dominated on the glass 38-23 with their best effort of the yet young season. Baker was the only Trojan in double figures with 19 points.
The Bills' Anthony Drejaj contributed 13 points. Ohanon finished with 12 points and five boards. After leading the team in scoring in the preseason, Newborne was blanked in his first two outings, but responded withy 11 points and five rebounds. The Bills shot over 50 percent for the first time this year at 52.1. SLU was 36.8 percent from the arc and only 54.5 percent from the line.
The Billikens entertain Oral Roberts in SLU's home opener at Savvis Center on Sat., Nov. 27, at 1:10 p.m.
