ST. LOUIS – The message appears to be quite simple for teams playing the Saint Louis University Billikens this year: pick your poison.
Taking the court for the first time without coach Rick Majerus and missing guard and leading returning scorer Kwamain Mitchell, the Billikens used an impressive balanced attack to down USC Upstate 76-59 at Chaifetz Arena.
Forward Dwayne Evans tied a career high with 21 points to lead four players in doubles figure for SLU which led just 54-51 with 8:54 to play before finishing the game on a 22-8 run.
Cody Ellis had 15 points, Jordair Jett added 14 and Mike McCall Jr. poured in 12 for the Billikens, who wore down a pesky Spartans team with an impressive spread out scoring attack.
"We have a lot of threats," Evans said. "I think that was shown in the exhibition game that you can't really just guard one or two of us. We can spread it out and we have guys coming off the bench who can score too. I think that will be a really big component of our team this year."
Ellis came off the bench to hit 4-of-8 field goals and all seven of his free throw attempts. Jett and McCall picked up the slack at the guard position for Mitchell, who is likely out until late December with a broken foot.
But the most impressive performance was turned in by the Evans, who reached 20 points just once last season but hit 8-of-12 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws to equal his career high set during his freshman year.
The junior reached double figures 11 times last season, a number he could easily surpass thanks to the plethora of scoring options that will cause problems for opposing defenses.
"I think that's one of our strengths," said SLU interim coach Jim Crews. "I see Rob (Loe) only had four and he's going to score for us. I think that's how our team is. I think it was last year pretty much and I think it is this year. Different guys on different nights, but we need a pretty consistent balance.
"I thought Dwayne was very good. I thought he hit the offensive boards hard. He had good post-ups. Our guys understand good situations for him in the post with good matchups. They got caught with a little guy on him a couple times and he was able to deliver that. Our guys had a good eye for him."
The Billikens, who had at least four players in double figures in 13 of 34 games last year, used a decisive advantage at the free throw line. SLU went 19-for-22 at the charity stripe while USC Upstate went just 3-for-6. The Billikens won the game by 17 points and had a 16-point advantage at the line.
SLU won the rebounding battle 31-20 and committed just nine turnovers while playing their first game without Majerus, who stepped down over the summer due to a serious health issue.
Evans scored at least 15 points in just four games last season but showed off an improved offensive skillset Friday night. He hit shots from the outside and while posting up defenders inside, looking like the go-to guy that could be huge for the Billikens come the Atlantic 10 conference season.
"That was the big thing I wanted to improve on this summer is just consistency," Evans said. "I know my team is going to need me to produce on offense. I can't just float around."
The Billikens finished just outside both the preseason AP and coaches top 25 polls and it looked justified Friday night as the points continued to pour in from a variety of scorers.
When Mitchell returns, they'll be even more balanced. And scarier.
