RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Dwayne Evans scored 11 points and Saint Louis
built an 18-point second-half lead against cold-shooting Richmond and
then held on to beat the Spiders 56-46 Saturday night, the Billiken's
sixth straight win.
Jordair Jett, Kwamain Mitchell and Cody Ellis
added nine points each for the Billikens (18-5, 7-2 Atlantic 10
Conference), who were the fourth consecutive conference leader or
co-leader to visit the Robins Center, and the first to win. The Spiders
had beaten Charlotte, Virginia Commonwealth and Xavier in succession.
Cedrick Lindsay led Richmond (14-10, 4-5) with 20 points, but the Spiders shot 23.3 percent (10 of 43).
Richmond
was shooting just 17.1 percent (6 of 35) and had just one field goal in
the first 13 1/2 minutes of the second half as the opened their biggest
lead at 44-26.
The Spiders got a 3-pointer from Darien Brothers that sparked a 14-1 burst, pulling them within 45-40 with 3 minutes to play.
Saint Louis held on by making 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch.
The
Billikens arrived leading the A-10 in scoring defense, allowing just
58.3 points per game. They used their deliberate style to slow the game
down on offense before scoring inside, and stiff, in-your-face defense
to keep the game at their pace. Saint Louis outscored Richmond 32-10 in
the paint on the night.
The Billikens also used a variety of
defenders to harass Brothers all night, limiting him to five shots and
seven points, nine below his average. Richmond also finished just 3 for
15 from 3-point territory.
The loss was just the second in 14 home games for the Spiders.
Saint
Louis dictated the pace throughout the first half. Richmond didn't help
its cause by missing several times from in close, and finished the half
shooting 20.8 percent (5 of 24).
