ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis outscored Jackson State 11-2 over the final 4:38 of the second half and came away with a 74-66 victory Monday night at Chaifetz Arena.
The Billikens improved to 5-2 with a third consecutive win. Jackson State slipped to 0-8.
poured in 21 points, including 19 in the second half, to lead all scorers.
tallied 18 points, tied for game-high honors with a season-high seven assists and matched his season best of five rebounds.
flirted with a triple-double before settling for 15 points, eight rebounds and a game-high-tying seven assists. Avila’s rebounding and assists totals were season highs, as were his game-high four 3-pointers (4-of-8).
collected a game-high 11 rebounds, including four offensive boards. Anya has rebounded in double figures in three straight and five of seven games.
grabbed six caroms as Saint Louis out-rebounded Jackson State 43-30.
SLU was 28-of-53 (52.8 percent) from the floor, topping the 50-percent mark for a second straight game. The Billikens connected on 10-of-25 from 3-point range, reaching 40 percent for a second consecutive outing.
The visiting Tigers of the Southwestern Athletic Conference led 64-63 after Jayme Mitchell Jr. canned a 3-pointer at the 4:55 mark. Jimerson answered with a layup just 17 seconds later for the game’s 13th lead change, putting SLU on top for good.
Avila buried a triple for a 68-64 advantage, and Swope turned an Anya offensive rebound into a bucket to make it 70-64. Baskets by Avila and Swope upped the lead to 74-66 with 1:33 remaining, and the Billiken defense did the rest.
The teams swapped the lead six times in the first 7:18 of the game before Jackson State claimed the first-half lead for good, 13-12, on a jumper by Dorian McMillian, part of a 13-0 run that gave the Tigers a 22-12 cushion.
Saint Louis responded with a 7-0 spurt to narrow the margin to three, only to see Jackson State answer with an 8-0 flurry to go in front 30-19.
The Tigers still had an 11-point advantage, 33-22, with 2:33 left.
sparked an 8-2 run with a dunk and a steal followed by a layup, and the Billikens trailed 35-30 at the break.
Saint Louis chipped away and went on top 46-45 at the 12:31 mark of the second half. Neither team led by more than three points until two Jimerson free throws made it 63-58 Billikens with 6:59 to play. Mitchell put the Tigers back on top with a pair of treys, setting the stage for SLU’s game-ending run.
The Billikens travel to the West Coast to take on San Francisco Thursday, Dec. 5, at 9 p.m. Central.
