SLU Men’s Basketball battled back from a nine-point deficit in the first half, but just couldn’t hold on the final minute of a contest against A-10 foe Rhode Island. The Billikens lost to the Rams on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at Chaifetz Arena, with a final score of 72-65.

The early minutes of the first half were close, but Rhode Island jumped out late in the first half, leading 34-25 at the 4:18 mark. The Billikens staged a 5-0 run in the final three minutes of the half, before a Rhode Island jumper sealed the Billikens’ halftime deficit at three points.

In the second half, Rhode Island dominated early, but the Billikens mounted a 9-2 run to close within one at the 11:40 mark.

The game stayed closer, with SLU jumping out by one point at the 5:47 mark. This was the last time SLU would lead though, with Rhode Island mounting a 10-2 run over the final five minutes of the game.

Senior guard Davell Roby led the Billikens with 19 points, shooting a season high 11-12 from the charity stripe. Redshirt junior D.J. Foreman chipped in 13 points, shooting 5-6 from the stripe. Sophomore guard Jalen Johnson chipped in 10 points and a perfect 4-4 from the stripe.

The Billikens’ final game before students return to campus is a road battle. SLU travels to George Mason on Saturday, Jan. 13 for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.

SLU Men’s Basketball trailed by as much as 10 points early in the second half, before a late rally in a 69-62 rout of conference foe Richmond on Saturday, Jan. 6, at Chaifetz Arena.

The Billikens’ offense was cold throughout the bulk of the first half, but a couple of small runs early in the half gave SLU a 21-12 lead with 8:24 to play. However, Richmond went on a rally of their own, closing the SLU lead to just one point at the half.

The second half got off to a rough start, with Richmond jumping ahead 41-31.

A four-point play from sophomore forward Jalen Johnson sparked an 18-4 run through the middle of the second half, and SLU went back on top, 51-47. Richmond kept it close, but SLU held on for the first A-10 win of the season.

The bulk of the scoring in the game happened without freshman guard Jordan Goodwin. He left the game with 14:12 left in the first half due to an ankle injury. He didn’t return to the game, and his status is unknown as of press time.

Three Billikens shot in double figures: Redshirt forward D.J. Foreman scored a career-high 16 points, shooting 7-9 from the field; senior guard Davell Roby scored 15, going 7-10 from the charity stripe; and freshman forward Hasahn French was one rebound shy of a double-double (14 points, 9 rebounds).

It’s a quick turnaround for the Billikens, as they host conference foe Rhode Island at Chaifetz Arena for a 6 p.m. tip on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

SLU Men’s Basketball led by 11 points at the half, but lost 54-51 in a tight contest at Davidson on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

The early minutes of the first half saw Davidson take an early lead, leading by as much as six points. Davidson went cold late in the half, shooting 8-25 from the field and 0-12 from the arc. SLU capitalized, going on a 14-4 run in the final seven minutes (with three treys in the last two minutes). The Billikens took a 33-22 lead to the half.

Davidson came out shooting, hitting a pair of treys in the first 90 seconds, cutting the SLU lead to five points. SLU held a slim lead until 6:32, when Davidson took the lead off a trey. SLU closed within two points in the final minute, but Davidson hit a late layup in the loss.

Senior guard Davell Roby led the team with 11 points and seven rebounds, with sophomore forward Jalen Johnson chipping in nine points and freshman forward Hasahn French scoring eight.

SLU returns to Chaifetz Arena on Saturday, Jan. 6, hosting Richmond in a 7 p.m. tipoff.

SLU Men’s Basketball opened conference play on the road, facing La Salle in Philadelphia on Saturday, Dec. 30. Despite scoring the first basket, SLU was never able to overcome an early 8-0 run by the Explorers in the 83-60 loss.

Freshman guard Jordan Goodwin led SLU with 16 points and 13 rebounds, notching his second career double-double. Redshirt junior Javon Bess chipped in 15 points, shooting 7-10 from the charity stripe.

SLU stays on the road, traveling to Davidson for a 6 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018.

SLU Men’s Basketball took the lead in the first two minutes and never looked back in a 78-48 rout of the Southeastern Missouri Redhawks on Friday, Dec. 22 at Chaifetz Arena.

The Redhawks challenged the Billikens early on, closing within one and three points, but a 10-2 run gave the Billikens a nine-point margin at 8:07 in the first half.

The Billikens held the Redhawks to just 23 points in the first half, and went on to score 43 more points in the second half, including double-digit totals from freshman guard Jordan Goodwin, freshman forward Javon Bess, senior guard Davell Roby, and redshirt senior guard Aaron Hines.

Roby led scoring with a career-high 23 points, Goodwin posted 20 points, Bess posted a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds), and Hines scored 12.

SLU has a week-long break before beginning A-10 play on the road at La Salle. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30 in Philadelphia.

SLU Men’s Basketball traveled to Butler for a non conference game on Saturday, Dec. 2, losing 75-45 in Indianapolis. Butler started the game with an 8-0 run, never losing the lead afterward.

Junior guard Javon Bess posted a career high 22 points (19 in the second half), tying his record, with a career-high 10 rebounds. Bess notched his first career double-double. Freshman guard Jordan Goodwin chipped in seven points and five rebounds in the loss.

SLU next hosted the Southern Illinois Salukis at Chaifetz Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The back-and-forth battle in the first half ended with a 74-69 winner for SLU.

SLU got off to a rocky start, trailing by as many as nine with 12:16 to play. SLU tied the game up twice in the closing minutes, before sophomore forward Jalen Johnson hit a pair of FTs to give SLU its first lead of the night (27-26) with 4:04 to play. Goodwin completed a 3-point play to increase the SLU lead to 30-26 with 3:04 to play. SIU jumped back out 33-30 in the closing minute, before graduate center Rashed Anthony hit his first FG of his career to close the SLU deficit to one with 41 seconds left. An SIU trey in the final seconds of the half sent SLU to the locker room trailing 36-32 in a close fight.

Goodwin started off the second half with a jumper for SLU. The two teams traded buckets before Anthony completed a 3-point play to bring SLU within one at 16:27. A Hines jumper capped off the 5-0 rally, giving SLU the lead at 15:53.

Former Billiken Marcus Bartley hit four free throws to extend the SIU lead to 57-52 at 7:57. SLU bounced back within one before SIU jumped back out.

A red shirt junior guard/forward Javon Bess trey tied it up 61-61 with under five to play. SIU rallied back and the game became tied again.

Freshman forward Hasahn French hit a critical slam dunk, to give the Billikens a 65- 63 lead at 2:28. Bess chipped in another trey for a 68-63 lead just seconds later.

SIU charged back, closing within two, but SLU hit six of their final eight from the charity stripe and held off a charging SIU to secure the victory.

Goodwin is excited to see what the future brings, and says the team is working better as a whole. “It’s a big win for the whole team. We’ve learned how to trust each other more.” French went into the game knowing that there was a losing streak hanging over the team, but the team is making some changes to make themselves better. “There’s always frustration if you’re losing. We make sure we all stick together and start to gel even more.” SLU head coach Travis Ford thought the meetup was a “hard fought, competitive game between two teams that wanted to win badly.” He also said that players have been putting in extra effort. “We had guys got back to trusting each other on the court and playing through mistakes.”

Senior guard Davell Roby ended up injured, but Ford admired the determination of the team. “We showed a lot of character to move on [after Roby went out] and control[led] the things [we could] control.” SIU’s head coach, Barry Hinson, was even complementary of the effort by SLU: “You have to give credit to St. Louis. When Roby went out, they had a sense of urgency.” The next matchup for Men’s Basketball will be on Saturday Dec. 9. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena against non-conference foe Houston.

SLU Men’s Basketball saw plenty of action before and after Thanksgiving, finishing up competition in the 2K Classic at both Madison Square Garden and back home at Chaifetz Arena before continuing non-conference play against Western Michigan Fresh off victories against Seattle and Rockhurst, SLU traveled out to Madison Square Garden for the championship round of the 2K Classic. SLU got started against Virginia Tech on Thursday, Nov. 16, in a 77- 71 victory.

SLU took the lead midway through the first half off an 11-0 run, capped by a trey from freshman guard Jordan Goodwin and a bucket from sophomore forward Jalen Johnson. SLU led 36-29 at the half. Virginia Tech pulled within four late into the game, but SLU went 11-14 from the charity stripe in the final minute to clinch the victory. Redshirt junior forward Javon Bess led the team with 22 points and nine rebounds, with Goodwin clinching a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds).

The next day, Friday, Nov. 17, SLU played Providence for the 2K Classic Championship, but came up short in the 90-63 loss. The game was a back-and-forth battle in the early minutes, with SLU going up by four, five minutes into the game. With 12:17 to play, redshirt senior Aaron Hines hit a jumper to put SLU up 12-11. However, Providence answered with a trey and grabbed the lead for good. Providence went on a 13-2 run to take a 20-point lead at the half before expanding it out to 27-points at the end of the game. Bess again led with 16 points, shooting 8-9 at the charity stripe. Freshman forward Hasahn French pulled down 11 rebounds, scoring eight points.

SLU got some much-needed time off before hosting Detroit Mercy in the final game of the 2K Classic on Wednesday, Nov. 22. SLU tied everything up at 70-all in the closing minute of play, but Detroit Mercy hit a jumper at the last second in the 72-70 loss. SLU got on top early 8-0 with a pair of early Johnson treys before Detroit Mercy bounced back within two. SLU got back up by eight with another Johnson trey with 3:40 left in the first half, but Detroit Mercy mounted another rally to close within two at the half.

With nine ties and seven lead changes in the second half, the teams battled for the lead. SLU went up by five, but couldn’t mount a rally in the second half. French posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Johnson went 8-15 from the field on the way to a career-high 24 points on the night.

After Thanksgiving break, SLU came back to Chaifetz to host Western Michigan on Tuesday, Nov. 28. SLU came up short in the 65-51 loss.

The first half was a back-and-forth for both teams, with Western Michigan taking
a 23-22 lead to the half. Western Michigan went on a 19-3 run in the second half to build a 57-39 lead with 4:32 left in the second half, before SLU rallied with a 10-0 spurt to close the lead to 59- 51 with 1:39 left. Western Michigan buried a trey on their next possession, jumping out to a double-digit lead again. Bess led SLU with 14 points, shooting a perfect 6-6 on free throws. Goodwin chipped in 13 points with 7 rebounds. Johnson chipped in 10 points.

SLU heads to Indianapolis on Saturday, Dec. 1, for one of just four road games in nonconference play. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. against Butler.

SLU Women’s Soccer hosted UMass for the final home game of the regular season on Thursday, Oct. 19. With the 3-0 win, the Billikens set a new record for a home win streak (19), and clinched a first round A-10 playoff game at Hermann.

SLU got to work early, with sophomore midfielder Courtney Reimer converting a PK in the 25th minute. Reimer tallied another point when sophomore defender Allie Klug rebounded her saved shot and found the net in the 33rd minute.

The game was 2-0 at the half, but SLU would tally one more goal. Junior forward Lindsay Sands made a long pass to sophomore forward Evie Lavelle, and after a brief stare-down, out-maneuvered the UMass goalie for an easy insurance goal.

SLU outshot UMass 26-6, on top of a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Lavelle gave credit to Sands’s setup on her goal: “Lindsay just played a phenomenal ball in, and I thought I was going to shank it if I didn’t go past the goalie. So, I just went around her and passed it in.”

Head Coach Katie Shields was excited for playoff soccer at Hermann: “It’s exciting. We harped on the team about getting in that top four and getting a home playoff game. We look forward to playing some playoff soccer at Hermann Stadium.”

SLU traveled to Fordham for Sunday afternoon action on Oct. 22, falling 2-0 to the Rams in the final game of the regular season. The first half went scoreless before Fordham scored two quick goals in the 56th and 61st minute.

Despite the loss, the Billikens outshot the Rams 11-8, with a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks. Junior forward Maddie Pokorny tallied a game-high four shots, with senior goalkeeper Mary Niehaus, Klug, and senior defender Molly Ream playing all 90 minutes.

The Billikens returned home on Saturday, Oct. 28, for an A-10 quarterfinal game against the St. Joseph Hawks.

Despite owning a 16-12 advantage in shots, the Billikens couldn’t find the net. The Hawks did, though, netting a goal in the 30th minute in the 1-0 loss.

Despite being eliminated from post-season play, the Billikens can boast a number of records this year: The best overall regular season record in the A-10 (15-2-2), 19 consecutive wins at Hermann (dating back to 2015), 16 wins on the season, Niehaus with a single-season record 15 wins, and 13 shutouts in a single season, among countless team and individual record ties and second and third place records.

SLU Women’s Soccer hosted University of Massachusetts Amherst for the final home game of the regular season Thursday night. With the 3-0 win, the Billikens set a new record for a home win streak (19), and clinched a first-round A-10 playoff game at Hermann.

SLU got to work early, with Courtney Reimer converting a PK in the 25th minute. Reimer tallied another point when Alli Klug rebounded her saved shot and found the net in the 33rd minute.

The game was 2-0 at the half, but SLU would tally one more goal. Lindsay Sands made a long pass to Evie Lavelle, and after a brief stare down, out-maneuvered the UMass goalie for an easy insurance goal.

SLU outshot UMass 26-6, on top of a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Lavelle gave credit to Sands’s setup on her goal: “Lindsay just played a phenomenal ball in and I thought I was going to shank it if I didn’t go past the goalie. So, I just went around her and passed it in.”

Head Coach Katie Shields had one thing to say to Billiken fans: “Come watch this team next Saturday night!”

SLU will face St. Joseph’s at Hermann Stadium in the first-round. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Women’s Soccer was in action all across the country over the last two weeks. SLU hosted A-10 rival Dayton before road trips to George Washington and Rhode Island, with a final trip back home for Senior Day against Richmond. Women’s Soccer posted a 3-0-1 record during this conference battle.

The action for Women’s Soccer began with a Thursday night matchup on Oct. 5 against Dayton. Like most games this season, the scoring didn’t begin until the second half, despite SLU outshooting the Flyers 8-2 in the first half. Dayton opened scoring in the 55th minute, gathering a deflection off the crossbar. They wouldn’t have the lead for long, though. Just four minutes later, freshman midfielder Olivia Petit scored off a free kick from sophomore midfielder Courtney Reimer. Petit had nothing but good things to say about Reimer.

“Courtney’s free kicks are amazing. She always knows where to play them, and every time she gets on the ball, it’s a perfect service.”

Both teams continued to battle, but neither team scored again, resulting in a 1-1 draw after the second overtime.

SLU Women’s Soccer made a quick turnaround and headed to Washington, D.C., for more A-10 play, this time against George Washington. SLU dominated all around, outshooting the Colonials 10-8 and being on the upside of an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks. While these stats were impressive, SLU just could not find the net. Many were expecting another OT game, but sophomore defender Alli Klug used her head off a Reimer corner kick, scoring her first career game-winning goal with just 36 seconds left in regulation.

SLU’s successes continued with a 2-0 win over Rhode Island on Thursday, Oct. 12. Both goals came in the first half with Klug again connecting off a Reimer corner kick in the sixth minute. SLU scored an insurance tally with Petit converting a PK in the 40th minute. SLU continued charging in the second half, out-shooting Rhode Island 8-3, but couldn’t score again.

Senior day brought even more success for the Billikens, with a 3-0 rout of A-10 foe Richmond. Being Senior Day, this was already exciting for the team and fans. However, this win marked a milestone for head coach Katie Shields, who notched her 50th career victory as SLU’s head coach. SLU got to work right away, scoring in the 17th minute. Sophomore midfielder Evie Lavelle connected off assists from Reimer and Petit. Just three minutes later, Petit added a tally, assisted by Reimer.

The final insurance tally came just three minutes into the second half, with sophomore forward Alyssa Seitzer sending a shot into the bottom-right corner. In addition, Petit notched a second assist in the game. In typical Women’s Soccer fashion, Shields wasn’t focused on records, including her 50th win at the helm of the program.

“I honestly wasn’t even aware of [the win milestone] going into the game.” Shields also spoke to the triumph and team spirit of the senior class. “They’re awesome. As I told the team before the game, none of them really had an easy four years. They all had their own adversity… this group was never about themselves…it was always about the team.”

Women’s Soccer hosts the final home game of the regular season tomorrow at 7 p.m. vs. UMass before wrapping up conference play in Fordham on Sunday, Oct. 22. Looking ahead to the postseason, SLU could host an A-10 quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, Oct. 28. The team currently sits second in A-10 standings and needs to stay in the top four to secure home field advantage in the quarterfinals.