| Saint
Louis University Billikens officially opened their 2008-2009
basketball season with a 48-33 win over the University
of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons at the Chaifetz
Arena (reported attendance = 7,170). The Billikens were able
to build upon their 25-19 first half lead by silencing Tritons
senior guard Jason Black during the second half. With senior
guard Kevin Lisch sidelined in street clothes, Coach Majerus
again used (and the shooting statistics reflect) a heavily dominated
freshman lineup for most of the game. However, the primary scoring
was done by freshman guard Kwamain Mitchell (16 pts, 3 rebounds,
5 assists) and senior guard Tommie Liddell (12 pts, 8 rebounds)
with rebounding strength provided by Barry Eberhardt (4 pts,
9 rebounds) and Willie Reed (2 pts, 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots).
Saint Louis shot 38% from the field (31% from 3-pt range) and
60% (9-15) from the charity line. The Tritons were led by senior
guard Jason Black (8 pts, 3 rebounds) and senior forwards Alex
Jackson (6 pts, 1 rebound) and Tim Green (6 pts, 1 rebound).
UMSL shot 34% from the field (10% from 3-pt range) and 67% (4-6)
from the charity line. The Billikens had 39 rebounds (15O, 24D),
9 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocked shots, and 11 turnovers as compared
with 20 rebounds (4O, 16D), 6 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocked shots,
and 8 turnovers by the Tritons. |
