Led by senior guards Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell III, Saint Louis had a chance to win but came up short against Kent State this time, losing 76-74 in overtime at Chafeitz Arena after Al Fisher drove and dropped in the game-winner with two seconds left in the extra period.
“We lost by like 41 points a year ago,” Lisch said. “We kind of just let everything snowball there. I think this game we kept our poise. We still have obviously tons of things to work on, but I really like our guys and their mentality. I like what I see.”
Saint Louis (1-1) had three players in double figures, led by Lisch and Liddell.
In his first game of the season, Lisch scored a team-high 22 points on eight of 11 shooting, including four 3-pointers, and added six rebounds and five assists. Liddell had 19 points, with nine free throws, and a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior forward Barry Eberhardt added nine points and five boards.
Al Fisher shoots over Kevin Lisch (Jeff Roberson/AP) |
The Billikens got solid contributions from several freshmen. Forward Brian Conklin added 10 points and six rebounds. Point guard Kwamain Mitchell had eight points, five assists (with five turnovers) and two steals. Forward Willie Reed scored six points on three dunks, including two alley-oops. Center Brett Thompson had three blocked shots and three rebounds.
“The freshmen showed a lot of poise,” Lisch said. “Brian hit some critical free throws down the stretch. Guys stepped up. Kwamain had a big steal. I’m proud of them. Obviously they keep score and we lost.”
Kent State (2-0) got a game-high 35 points from Fisher, a senior guard who was the Mid-American Conference player of the year last season. He made 15 of 28 shot attempts, including two of eight from 3-point range, and also added five steals.
“The first half we had him under control,” SLU coach Rick Majerus said. “The second half we told them at halftime he was going to come out and he did come out. Part of it was we didn’t get a hand up on him. Some guys didn’t get a hand up on him. He’s the MVP of the league. We were the seventh-ranked league in America last year; they were either eight, nine or 10. I told our guys that. He’s really good.”
Fisher, who scored 27 of KSU’s final 28 points, limped into the post-game press conference with a bag of ice on one knee and a second bag of ice on his ankle on his other leg.
“I feel good and hurt at the same time,” he said. “I feel good about the win. We came in here and we played them tough and they played us tough. They’re a great team. They’re going to do big things this year, I think. They’re a good team.”
Fisher was asked to compare last year’s team with this year’s, which had three freshmen (Mitchell, Conklin and Thompson) in the starting lineup on Wednesday.
“I believe they are a lot better,” he said. “They were good last year, too, but we had a good game and they might not have played their best game. This year they are a lot tougher. They’ve got good guards, good big men. They are very athletic this year and they just came out and played with a lot of heart.”
Early on in Wednesday’s game, it looked like Kent State was more ready to play. A few minutes before the game, the Golden Flashes players were outside their locker room, chanting Archie Eversole’s “We Ready” over and over.
But despite a slow start, it was obvious Lisch, Liddell, Eberhardt and the Baby Billikens were ready for whatever Kent State was going to throw at them. Though KSU led by as many as six points in the first half, SLU held the lead twice, with the last being 20-19 with 2:32 remaining and a mid-range jumper by Lisch.
The Golden Flashes scored the last two baskets of the first half, however, and took a 24-20 lead into halftime.
In the second half the Billikens showed they weren’t going away. Saint Louis led by six points, its largest lead of the night, with 13:32 remaining when Eberhardt capped a 10-0 run with a mid-range jumper.
The Billikens led 59-57 with 22 seconds left in regulation after Conklin knocked down two free throws, but Fisher answered with a basket and foul with 14.5 ticks left. Fisher missed the free throw and SLU had a chance to win, but Lisch’s long 3-point attempt at the buzzer at off the mark.
Neither team led by more than three points in overtime.
Lisch’s 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining gave SLU a 71-69 lead, but Fisher answered with a long pull-up jumper to tie. Reed got a dunk inside off a pass from Lisch with 59 seconds left and was fouled, but missed the free throw.
Fisher answered with a 3-pointer from the right win with 46 seconds left to give KSU a 74-73 lead, which was tied with 27.4 seconds remaining when Conklin hit one of two free throws.
That set the stage for Fisher’s drive to the hoop against Lisch in the final moments, when he flipped a shot off the backboard that went down with two seconds remaining to put Kent State ahead 76-74.
Saint Louis had one last chance, but Mitchell’s desperation heave from well beyond half court bounced off the backboard and hit the rim as time expired.
“The coaches said make sure we get the last shot,” Fisher said. “I went kind of early. I was scared because it looked like that full court shot was going in. My heart was pounding.”
Box Score | Play-by-Play | SLU Press Release