The night was meant for more than the nostalgia of saying goodbye to seniors. Yes, Coach Ford put his 5 seniors in the starting lineup, but this was still a must win for the Billikens. Tears and well wishes can be left till after the final buzzer sounds. SLU needed to put these 40 minutes to good use and destroy the Dukes from Duquesne. Wiley and Welmer were pulled after about a minute and the regular line up was in.
Ford wanted this one. The Billikens needed it.
That Billiken Offense Rears its Ugly Head
After 12 minutes of the first half was in the books SLU was down 19-16, shooting 35% from the floor and committing 5 early turnovers and missing their only two free throw attempts. They were being out-hustled, out-rebounded, and simply outclassed.
If not for Tramaine Isabell Jr. going all Calvin Murphy the Billikens would have been toast at the half. SLU went to the locker room down 34-31, and Tramaine had 16 of those including a buzzer beating triple from 22 feet out.
There had to be Travis Ford hell to pay in the locker room…
The Billikens looked possessed in the final frame. They absolutely destroyed Duquesne on the boards, Tramaine Isabell Jr. could not be stopped, Fred Thatch looked like he was going to jump through the ceiling, and D.J. Foreman almost tore the rim down on two monster two handed Shawn Kemp like dunks.
Were it not for the old free throw monster rearing his ugly head again (SLU went 22-39) this would have been an absolute blow out. The Bills ended up closing it out 85-75 keeping themselves in the mix for a top four seed in the Atlantic 10 and a shot at the double bye.
The wows on a night full of wows
Eric Williams Jr- Damn…this kid was unstoppable. He dropped 40 points on 15-20 shooting, including 7-9 from three, and 3-3 from the line. He did whatever he wanted all night. It was the best single performance I’ve seen against the Billikens this season.
Fred Thatch Jr. – 8 points, 7 boards, 6 offensive boards, 2 assists, and 5 steals. 5 STEALS…this kid is a freshman with an unbelievable ceiling. I cannot wait to see what he brings next season.
Tramaine Isabell Jr. comes to shoot- The close wasn’t pretty trying to get his to hit 40 points…but he did finish with 39 points on 12-25 shooting and 5-6 from deep. He willed SLU to stay in this game, without his herculean offensive night this would have been a dark and sad senior night.
Javon Bess says goodbye to Chaifetz….maybe. It wasn’t a pretty night from the floor but JB was able to put up 13 points to go along with 8 boards, 2 dimes, and 2 steals in 37 minutes on what at times seemed like one leg.
So what now??
SLU can be the four seed…or the seven. All they need to be that four seed, get a double bye and some much needed rest is beat the Bonnies on Saturday on the road. If the team that played the second half tonight shows up, they will. If the team that played the first half does…
Again we ask the same questions about free throws, offense, shooting, etc etc etc. For me, I’m going to enjoy this team…it’s franticness, its up and down…its ability to never really have a game in hand…it’s ability to just grind and grind and grind…
So, until Saturday, long live Shawn Kemp like throw downs.
