The No. 21 Saint Louis Billikens absolutely dominated Dayton on Friday night, cruising to a convincing 102-71 victory in front of a packed crowd of over 10,000 at Chaifetz Arena.
Trey Green was on fire again, dropping a career-high 23 points for the second game in a row. He knocked down a personal-best seven 3-pointers (going 7-for-10 from deep) and also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists. The Billikens as a team were lights-out from beyond the arc, hitting a season-high 60.7% (17-of-28) on threes.
Three other SLU players reached double figures: Ishan Sharma poured in 18 points, all from six 3-pointers (6-of-8), while Quentin Jones matched him with 18 points on efficient shooting (5-of-7 field goals, including 2-of-4 from three, plus 6-of-7 free throws). Jones also added five rebounds, a game-high-tying five assists, and four steals to tie his career best. Dion Brown contributed 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, along with five boards and three steals (tying his career high).
The Billikens (now 21-1 overall, a perfect 9-0 in Atlantic 10 play) never trailed and built big leads throughout. They jumped out to an 11-3 start, pushed it to double digits for good at 20-9, and ballooned the margin to 42-18 in the first half. Dayton made a brief push early in the second half to get within 51-41, but SLU responded with a quick 12-0 run and kept the lead at 20+ the rest of the way.
Saint Louis shot an impressive 62.5% from the field overall (35-of-56), grabbed more rebounds (30-23), and dominated in transition (outscoring Dayton 25-9 on fast-break points). This marked the seventh time this season they’ve hit 100+ points—a school record for most such games—and it was their highest-scoring output ever against Dayton in 75 meetings. The 31-point margin is also their biggest win over the Flyers as A-10 opponents.
The win extends SLU’s overall streak to 15 straight (third-longest active in Division I men’s basketball) and their home winning streak at Chaifetz Arena to 18. Their 21-1 start is the best 22-game record in program history, and this is just the second time they’ve opened A-10 play 9-0 (joining the 2013-14 squad).
Next up, the Billikens hit the road to face Davidson on Tuesday, February 3, at 8 p.m. Central, with the game airing on CBS Sports Network.
