The Billikens, who improved to 21-10 overall and 12-6 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, finished fifth in the league standings and will play their first game in the A-10 Championship Thursday, March 10, at 1:30 p.m. Central. The conference tournament begins Wednesday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
VCU, which saw its winning streak halted at eight, slipped to 21-8, 14-4.
Gibson Jimerson (6-of-10 FG, 3-of-5 3-point, 4-of-4 FT) led the Billikens with 19 points. Yuri Collins scored 12 points to go with five rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
Marten Linssen and Francis Okoro tied for game-high honors with six rebounds apiece as the Billikens edged the Rams 30-29 on the boards. DeAndre Jones matched his season bests of four assists and a game-high-tying three steals.
Saint Louis led by as many as 21 points, 47-26, with 17:32 remaining. A 9-0 VCU spurt made it 47-35 with 13:24 left, but SLU steadied the ship and built the margin to 16 on three occasions, the final time a 55-39 advantage at the 9:01 mark.
The Billikens were on top 66-53 following an Okoro basket with 4:05 to play when VCU made its move. The Rams used a 12-0 outburst to trim the Saint Louis lead to 66-65 with 48 seconds left.
On the Bills’ next possession, Collins drove the lane for a layup with 26 seconds left. Following a VCU timeout, the Rams misfired on a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Collins grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and sealed the win by making the front end of a 1-and-1.
Senior Brandon Courtney, in the starting lineup on Senior Day, drilled a 3-pointer on SLU’s first possession to give the Billikens a lead they would not relinquish. Saint Louis tallied the first seven points and posted its first double-digit lead, 14-4, with 13:00 to go in the opening frame.
VCU drew to within a bucket, 17-15, only to see SLU go on a 24-9 run over the final 8:34 to take a 41-24 lead at intermission.
