Saint Louis received game-high 23 points from Gibson Jimerson and Terrence Hargrove added 14, but Dayton put together several runs to outlast the Billikens 68-63 Tuesday night in Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball action at UD Arena.
SLU dips to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Flyers improve to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in the league.
Jimerson’s 23 points, a season high, came on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the stripe.
Hargrove added a 4-of-5 performance from the arc to help account for his 14 points. As a team, the Billikens shot a season-best 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range.
Yuri Collins had nine assists, and Francis Okoro pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Saint Louis was hampered by 15 turnovers and was uncharacteristically out-rebounded 34-28. As a result, Dayton edged Saint Louis 17-10 in points off turnovers and 11-2 in second chance points.
A Hargrove triple at the 10:21 mark of the first half put SLU on top by five at 19-14, but that ended up being the Billikens’ largest lead of the game. Dayton responded with a 9-0 to grab a lead it would not relinquish. The Flyers led by as many as 12 in the first half and took a 36-26 lead into halftime.
SLU rallied to start the second half, as an 8-0 run that was punctuated by treys by Hargrove and Jimerson cut the Billiken deficit to four. Later, a pair of Fred Thatch Jr. free throws cut the Billiken deficit to just three, but Dayton built a 15-point lead over the next several minutes.
The Flyers led by 16 with 4:20 left before the Billikens again tried to claw back into it. Jimerson scored seven points in the last two minutes, but the Bills weren’t able to get it down to a one possession game and fell 68-63.
The Billikens return to action Saturday afternoon when they host Fordham at Chaifetz Arena. Game time is 1:30 p.m., and it will be televised on the USA Network.
