Yuri Collins’ career-high scoring effort led Saint Louis to a 76-69 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over Richmond Sunday afternoon at Chaifetz Arena.
Collins tied for game-high scoring honors with 24 points, topping his previous career best by seven points. The 24-point output is the highest of the season for the Billikens (9-4, 1-0). The sophomore point guard also had career highs of 10 field goals (10-of-17) and three 3-pointers (3-of-5), dished out a game-high eight assists and grabbed six rebounds.
Gibson Jimerson tossed in 17 points and Jordan Nesbitt added 12 for Saint Louis, which was playing its first game in 15 days. Francis Okoro chipped in nine points (all in the second half), a team-high eight rebounds and a career-high three steals.
Tyler Burton led Richmond (9-6, 0-2) with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Jimerson erased a 5-4 Richmond lead and put SLU on top for good with a bucket at the 16:53 mark of the first half. The Billikens went on to lead by as many as six points on five occasions in the first half, although the Spiders drew to within a point twice before the break.
A Collins 3-pointer at the buzzer put Saint Louis in front 36-31 at intermission.
The teams traded buckets early in the second half before a Jimerson trey gave SLU its largest advantage, 41-33, with 18:04 to play.
The spread floated between four and seven points before a 7-1 Richmond run narrowed the gap to a single tally, 49-48, with 12:41 remaining. It was 51-50 after Collins hit a jumper and Burton sank two free throws.
The Billikens tried to pull away with a 6-0 spurt, including a layup and a breakaway dunk by Okoro, that gave them a 57-50 lead, but the Spiders answered with a 7-2 run that resulted in a 59-57 Saint Louis edge with 7:44 left.
Markhi Strickland responded with a three-point play that pushed the margin to five, and the Billikens eventually matched their largest cushion when Collins turned a steal into a layup to make it 71-63 at the 2:53 mark.
Richmond scored the next five points to create a one-possession game with 1:46 remaining. But Jimerson netted three free throws after being fouled on a try from beyond the arc, and SLU held on for the win.
The Billikens committed only nine turnovers, their third single-digit total of the season. SLU earned advantages of 13-6 in points off turnovers and 20-8 in bench points.
