Yeah, i’ll admit to being a homer for SLU…but today at Chaifetz Arena the visiting LaSalle Explorers had a kid named Pookie Powell on the floor…and I will always root for a dude named Pookie.
This was yet another game SLU “should” win. LaSalle came into the STL sporting an 8-15 record, but a sneaky 6-5 in the A-10. So we ask again, which Billiken squad would turn up on a crystal clear frozen Saturday in the gateway? The one that suffocates you for 40 straight minutes, making every point you score a gift from Mr. Naismith in heaven…or the one that forgets that they have to play offense to win? Well…a little of the former and a little of the latter.
Early on, it was ugly. 1-5 from the free throw line from the guards and 6-4 score after four and a half minutes gone. It wasn’t much prettier after that. A couple of deep threes got the crowd going…followed by lull after lull and the near capacity crowd sounded like they were sitting through an audit.
The half ended with a whisper and St. Louis up 26-20.
Would SLU start playing offense was the only questions I wanted an answer to….And as Henry VIII would say…”Second verse, same as the first.”
The crowd finally woke up as SLU continued to crash the offensive glass, the refs got an ear full, and the Bills pushed the lead to 10 with 15 left. Could they Lee Smith this thing…close it down and slam the door shut when they flat have to?
Yes they could. And Tramaine Isabelle Jr. was the engine of victory. He slid, twisted, sprinted, and hopped through the Explorer defense from buzzer to buzzer. He finished the with a double double, a team high 23 points, 10 boards, 2 steals and a block.
It was ugly, but it was a W to push SLU to 17-9, matching their win total from last season and moving them to 8-5 and a tie for 5th in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The post season fate of this squad is theirs for the taking. Five conference games left and four of those are with teams ahead of them in the standings. They can finish in the top four and secure the double bye, or fall to the middle. The defense always plays…but can they muster enough on the offense side of the court? That is the question that will be asked before every contest down the winter of the season.
Milestone Tracker
Javon Bess- After this 14 points tonight Bess is alone in 43rd place on SLU’s all-time scoring list, passing Desmet’s Matt Baniak and Quitman Dillard. He now sits just 20 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career, and 146 shy of 1,000 for his Billiken tenure.
Travis Ford- Tonight was Coach Ford’s 324th with as a D-1 coach and his 46th as the Billikens coach. He is also 3 wins shy of his 9th career 20 win season.
Earl Austin Jr.- The “big ol’ teddy bear” as Coach Ford called him in the post game presser while lauding his “profound impact” on sports in St. Louis can now add HOF to his John Hancock. Inducted into the Billiken Hall of Fame to a standing O. Much deserved sir, much deserved.
The Billikens have a week off until next Saturday’s match up at Dayton. A week of film…hitting the books…and hitting the gym.
Until next then…long live dudes name Pookie.
