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Saint Louis’ Javon Bess and Jordan Goodwin scored 22 and 19 points, respectively, in leading the Billikens to a 77-71 victory over Virginia Tech in the semifinals of the 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Billikens improve to 3-0 on the season and advance to tomorrow’s championship game, which tips at approximately 6:30 p.m. (CT) against either Providence or Washington. The title game will be televised on ESPN2.
Virginia Tech, which came into the game averaging more than 120 points per game, were held to a season-low 71 points and 21 field goals.
On Thursday, Bess posted his 22 points points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 12-of-15 shooting from the charity stripe. He also corralled nine rebounds.
Goodwin was 7-of-18 from the field, including his first-career 3-pointer, and was 4-of-5 from the line to account for his 19 points. He also recorded 10 rebounds for his first-career double-double. For the third straight game, Goodwin led the Billikens with four steals.
Aaron Hines contributed nine points, while D.J. Foreman had eight points and six rebounds.
The Billikens shot 47.4 percent from the field and 76 percent from the stripe.
Saint Louis gained the lead midway through the first half, utilizing an 11-0 run capped by Goodwin’s trey and a basket by Jalen Johnson. SLU, which would not relinquish that lead the rest of the way, took a seven-point lead into the break (36-29).
The Billikens led by as many as 12 in the second half, but Virginia Tech pulled to within four of the lead late in the game. However, the Billikens hit 11 of 14 free throws in the final minute of play to secure the victory.
