Rick Majerus earned the 500th victory of his coaching career on Saturday as Saint Louis defeated Illinois-Springfield 72-62.
Majerus has 78 career wins in five seasons for the Billikens after a long tenure at Utah, where he won 323 games. He also won 56 at Marquette and 43 at Ball State.
Kwamain Mitchell scored 22 points for St. Louis (9-1), while Brian Conklin scored 16 and Cody Ellis 14. Dwayne Evans grabbed 13 rebounds.
Illinois-Springfield (2-6) held a brief lead early in the second half, but Saint Louis took control.
Evans scored on a putback to give Saint Louis a 57-50 lead with 7:03 left in the game, and fed Jordair Jett for a layup for a 59-50 advantage with 6:48 remaining.
Michael Fakuade scored 14 for Illinois-Springfield, and Jermaine Love-Roberts scored 13.
