BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Gibson Jimerson scored a game-high 21 points and fourth-seeded Saint Louis was clicking on all cylinders in an 82-54 victory over No. 5-seed George Mason on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Barclays Center.
The Billikens (21-11) advance to Saturday’s semifinals where they will face top-seeded VCU at noon (CT) on CBS Sports Network. George Mason fell to 20-13 with the loss.
The Billikens’ 26 assists tied an A-10 Men’s Basketball Championship record. Saint Louis shot 55.9 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle 33-27.
Jimerson’s 21 points came on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He buried two 3-pointers to move past Scott Highmark for third on the Billikens’ all-time list with 231 career treys.
Also scoring in double figures was Javon Pickett (13 points) and Sincere Parker (10 points). Yuri Collins dished out 10 assists and committed just one turnover. Larry Hughes Jr. contributed five assists in 14 minutes of action as SLU tied the tournament record for assists, set previously by UMass in 1992.
SLU utilized a 12-0 run in the first half to break a 25-all tie. Francis Okoro scored six points in the spurt, which helped SLU take a 44-30 lead into halftime.
The Billikens kept their foot on the gas in the second half, never letting George Mason back into it while cruising to the 28-point victory.
VCU, which captured the A-10 regular-season title, defeated the Billikens twice in the regular season – 73-65 at Chaifetz Arena and 79-67 in Richmond, Virginia. The Rams advanced to the A-10 semifinals with a 71-53 win Thursday over No. 8 Davidson.
