The Saint Louis Billikens continued their dominant stretch with a convincing 78-56 victory over the Fordham Rams on Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena, securing their 10th consecutive win.
SLU (16-1, 4-0 Atlantic 10) pulled away decisively in the first half, outscoring Fordham 21-8 over the final seven minutes to build a commanding 44-30 halftime lead. The Billikens maintained control throughout the second half, extending their advantage with an 11-2 run that pushed the margin to 68-46 with just over six minutes remaining. The lead stayed in the 20s for nearly the entire final stretch.
This win marked a historic milestone for the program, as Saint Louis became just the fourth team in school history to win 16 of its first 17 games. The 1993-94 squad started 19-1, while the 1947-48 and 1948-49 teams also opened 16-1. Additionally, the Billikens extended their school-record winning streak at Chaifetz Arena to 15 games dating back to last season.
Kellen Thames led the way with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench, adding five rebounds for his second scoring lead in three games. Quentin Jones contributed 13 points—including his 1,000th career point—while Amari McCottry added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Brady Dunlap chipped in 10 points. Robbie Avila provided a well-rounded stat line with nine points, five rebounds, and a game-high five assists, and Dion Brown dished out four assists.
Tamar Sher on X (formerly Twitter): “Congrats to Q on hitting 1,000 career points!Quentin Jones is the 4th Billiken on the roster with 1,000+ points (Dion Brown, Robbie Avila, Paul Otieno). He played 30 minutes vs. Fordham and scored 13 pts in the Billikens 78-56 win. | @SaintLouisMBB pic.twitter.com/W4xgRFYo9Y / X”
Congrats to Q on hitting 1,000 career points!Quentin Jones is the 4th Billiken on the roster with 1,000+ points (Dion Brown, Robbie Avila, Paul Otieno). He played 30 minutes vs. Fordham and scored 13 pts in the Billikens 78-56 win. | @SaintLouisMBB pic.twitter.com/W4xgRFYo9Y
The Billikens shot efficiently, hitting 50.9% (28-of-55) from the field—the 10th time this season and seventh in the last 10 games surpassing 50%. They also knocked down 12 three-pointers at a 40% clip (12-of-30), reaching double-digit threes for the 11th time this year and sixth in the last seven games. SLU protected the ball exceptionally well, committing just six turnovers—its fifth single-digit total this season, all coming in the last nine games.
The first half featured back-and-forth runs early on. SLU built a 19-9 lead with a 14-4 spurt fueled by Avila (six points) and Thames (five), including four threes. Fordham responded with a 13-4 push to close within 23-22. But a late surge—sparked by Brown and Jones, who combined for the first 10 points of a key flurry (including Brown’s two threes and Jones’ four free throws)—pushed the margin into double digits at 35-24. Ishan Sharma hit a three for Fordham, but Thames closed the half with the final six points for the 14-point cushion.
Fordham briefly trimmed the deficit to 11 with an early second-half three, but could get no closer as SLU pulled away for good.
The Billikens host Richmond on Saturday, January 17, at 3 p.m. CT, with the game broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Don’t worry fans, we will get Shake Shack on Saturday. 🙂
