Saint Louis put four players in double figures as the Billikens held off Central Arkansas to register a 73-61 win Saturday at Chaifetz Arena.
The victory moves SLU to 5-1 on the year. Central Arkansas dips to 2-4.
Javon Bess led the Bills in scoring with 19 points. He hit 3-of-7 from 3-point land and was 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Jordan Goodwin registered 18 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Tramaine Isabell Jr contributed 13 points and four assists.
Carte’Are Gordon stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.
The Billikens out rebounded Central Arkansas 47-24 and limited the Bears to just 35.7 percent shooting.
Saint Louis hit five of its first six shots to go up 13-4 at the first media timeout. The Billikens grew their lead to as many as 13 in the first half before Central Arkansas slowly chipped its way back to pull to within four at halftime (34-30).
SLU never trailed in the second half, but Central Arkansas pulled to within one of the lead on several occasions. A 7-0 run by SLU with seven minutes left, highlighted by a Hasahn French jam, put the Bills up by nine and the Bears wouldn’t threaten again.
The Billikens are next in action Saturday, Dec. 1, for a highly anticipated non conference matchup against Butler at Chaifetz Arena. Tip time is at 4 p.m., and the game will be televised on FOX Sports Midwest.
