Saint Louis’ Fred Thatch Jr. recorded his first-career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Billikens defeated La Salle 75-57 Tuesday night at Tom Gola Arena.Â
The Billikens maintain second place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings and improve to 17-6 overall and 8-2 in the league. La Salle falls to 7-14 overall and 2-9 in the league.Â
SLU extended its season-long winning streak to six games. Additionally, the Billikens have won six in a row in A-10 play for the first time since 2013-14.Â
Francis Okoro scored a team-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half alone. Thatch was 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from the stripe to account for his 14 points. Four of Thatch’s 10 rebounds were on the offensive glass.Â
Gibson Jimerson scored 13 points, while Yuri Collins, Jordan Nesbitt and Terrence Hargrove Jr. all chipped in eight points.Â
SLU won the rebounding battle 43-13 and outscored the Explorers 46-22 in the paint.Â
The Billikens utilized an 8-0 run in the first half to stretch out to a 41-27 advantage at halftime.Â
In the second half, Okoro erupted as the Billikens built a double-digit lead it maintained for the majority of the game. Okoro was 8-for-9 in the second half for his 17 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds in the second session.Â
The Billikens return to action Friday night when they host the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at Chaifetz Arena in an 8 p.m. (CT) tipoff. The game will be televised on ESPN2.Â
