Bills pick up big road victory at LaSalle

The Billikids survived a major snowstorm in Philadelphia and the size and athleticism of the LaSalle Explorers to take a 68-65 victory in Atlantic 10 Conference action on Saturday.

SLU moved to 5-3 in A-10 play and 14-8 overall. In a game that featured
several major shifts of momentum, the Bills trailed by as many as 11
points in the first half, only to storm back to take a two point lead at
halftime. They fell behind by eight points in the second half, but
rallied to take a nine-point lead before the Explorers rallied to take a
late-lead.
It was a real ebb and flow game if I ever saw one.

Kwamain Mitchell hit four free throws in the last minute of play to
provide the winning points. His first two free throws gave the Billikens
a 66-65 lead with 54 seconds to play. After a defensive stop, Mitchell
hit both free throws to give SLU its winning margin. A late 3-pointer by
LaSalle missed the mark and the Billikens had their second road victory
in A-10 play.

For the third time in four games, the Billikens seemed to have a
comfortable edge late in the game only to see the lead slip away. They
led 63-54 with five minutes to play, but went scoreless for the next
five possessions. Those five possessions were agonizing. Their was a
dribble off the foot and out of bounds, two missed free throws, a bad
pass for another turnover, a missed shot and a rebounding foul and a
wild shot that hit the side of the backboard.

Meanwhile, LaSalle scored on their next five possessions to take the
lead. This time, the Billikens managed to stay strong as they got the
lead back and held on for the victory.

Mitchell dominated the action with a game high 25 points and four
assists. Mitchell has enjoyed some huge performances against LaSalle in
his brief career. Although LaSalle enjoys a big advantage over the Bills
in height and athleticism, they have had no answer for the diminutive
Mitchell, who hit jumpers and got to the basket at will. In two games
againt the Explorers last year, Mitchell scored 44 points, including the
game-winner at the buzzer at the A-10 Tournament last year.

What was most encouraging about today was that our Big Three of
Mitchell, Willie Reed and Cody Ellis all showed up at the same time
offensively. They combined to score 60 of the Billikens' 68 points.

Willie was also huge with 21 points and nine rebounds. He had a bit of
an adventure at the free throw line (9-16), but his length and activity
more than offset LaSalle's overall size on the front line. Willie is
back to being the active, energetic Willie that we saw during the
nonconference season. Cody added 14 points, including three 3-pointers.
Cody and Willie had the high-low working pretty good today as well. When
all three of our main guys are clicking offensively, we can be a tough
out, even on the road.

It was a big victory for SLU because it creates a little more separation
from the first division of the league to the second division. The
Billikens are in a battle for one of the those home-game berths in the
first round of the conference tournament. The top six is pretty solid
with Charlotte, Temple, Xavier, Richmond, Rhode Island and Dayton. SLU
is sitting right behind them in seventh place and a couple of games
clear of the next wave of teams.

Victories of St. Bonaventure and LaSalle helps the cause greatly
because they are in the hunt for those 5-8 spots in the league as well.
SLU will remain in Philly to visit St. Joseph's on Tuesday night.
Despite our struggles on the road, the Billikens have actually won
their last two games at St. Joseph's. Both games happened to be on ESPN
as well. Knock on wood, Bills fans.

As you may know, my broadcast partner Bob Ramsey and I missed the game
because the major storm in Philly shut down all flights into the City of
Brotherly Love. Philadelphia reportedly got more than two feet of snow.
We will try to make it out on Monday. Wish us luck. If we make it, we'll
bring you the call on ESPN-101 at 6 p.m. (St. Louis time) with the
pre-game set for 5:45 p.m.

Nice win guys. Go Bills!