Saint Louis held off a late charge by George Washington and came away with a 63-58 Atlantic 10 Conference victory Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
The Billikens improved to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Colonials fell to 6-9, 0-2.
Jordan Goodwin led all players with 20 points (7-of-10 FG), his third outing of 20 or more this season. Goodwin added eight rebounds.
Javonte Perkins turned in a 17-point, six-rebound effort. Hasahn French posted his sixth double-double of the year, scoring 12 points and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds while also collecting a game-high five blocks. Demarius Jacobs tallied a game- and career-high four steals.
Jamison Battle led GW with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Armel Potter had 17 points and a game-high four assists, and Jameer Nelson Jr. contributed 10 points and six rebounds.
SLU out-rebounded GW 38-33, including a 13-7 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 15-5 advantage in second-chance points.
The Billikens led 32-22 at intermission and increased the margin to 14 points, 36-22, less than two minutes into the second half. A 14-6 George Washington spurt narrowed the SLU lead to 42-36 with 12:30 left.
Saint Louis scored the next six points to re-establish a double-digit lead, 48-36, at the 10:34 mark. GW gradually drew closer and made it a six-point game again, 51-45, with 6:10 to play.
Buckets by Goodwin and French on consecutive possessions pushed the gap back to 10, but GW did not go away. The Colonials made it a one-possession contest, 61-58, with six seconds remaining, but Perkins sank two free throws to secure the win.
GW led 6-2 on a pair of 3-pointers, but SLU went on a 21-1 outburst to go in front 23-7 with 12:13 left in the first half. Goodwin and Perkins tallied nine and seven points, respectively, during the run, which featured four 3-pointers.
The Billikens are in Richmond, Virginia, to take on the Richmond Spiders Saturday, Jan. 11, at 5 p.m. (CST). The game will be televised by FOX Sports Midwest Plus.
