Javonte Perkins scored a team-high 27 points, including the 1,000th of his career, as Saint Louis upended George Washington 81-74 Saturday in Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball action at the Smith Center in Washington, D.C.
SLU utilized a 25-0 run at the end of the first half and into the second to propel the Bills to the win. The Billikens improved to 12-6 overall and are tied atop the A-10 standings with Dayton and VCU with a 4-1 conference mark. George Washington fell to 8-9 overall and 2-2 in the A-10.
Perkins was 11-of-17 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range to account for his 27 points. A first-half jumper game him 1,000 career points, the 35th Billiken to reach the milestone.
Javon Pickett scored a career-high 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and 9-of-11 from the stripe.
Gibson Jimerson played all 40 minutes and was the primary defender on GW leading scorer James Bishop, who was held well below his season average.
SLU played shorthanded as starting point guard and NCAA assists leader Yuri Collins was out for the game due to illness.
The Billikens stormed out to a 20-0 run in the second half and quickly grabbed a double-digit lead. SLU held George Washington to without a field goal for nine minutes into the second session.
SLU trailed by as many as eight late in the first half but climbed back to pull within three at the break, 39-36, with a 5-0 run. Combined with the rally at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, it was a 25-0 run in SLU’s favor.
Saint Louis is back in action on Wednesday night when it travels to face Loyola Chicago at Gentile Arena. Game time is 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
