Billikids win double-overtime thriller over Dayton

It is 5:30 in the morning as I begin to write this game summary and I am still pretty pumped up after what I witnessed at the Chaifetz Arena on Saturday.

The Billikids rallied twice to defeat Atlantic 10 rival Dayton 68-65 in
a heartstopping overtime game in what has to be one of the most
incredible and emotional SLU victories in recent memory.

This victory was huge for the Billikens on so many levels, I still don't
really know where to begin. The players, the coaches, the students, the
fans and everyone else can take a bow after this win. Everyone was great
today. And we had to be because the Flyers presented a formidable
challenge, which we managed to overcome.

I will try to break this day down into several segments.

The Players: As I said in my SLU-UD preview, the one thing that this
team has developed through all of the adversity they have encountered
this year has been mental toughness. For a group of freshmen and
sophomores to be so resilient so early in their careers is quite
remarkable. They have been through so much hardship this year, yet they
continue to grind and battle their way to tough hard-fought victories.
They have managed to come back from double-digit deficits in the last
three games to find a way to win. They are literally living the words of
the great gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, "We Fall Down, but We Get Up."
In our 10 conference games, eight of them have either gone into overtime
or have been decided in regulation in the final seconds. We are 6-2 in
those games. That does not happen by accident. You have to compete hard
to be in a position to win those games and have an idea of what to do to
pull them out. So far, that has been the case.


The Game: Saturday's game was no different as the bigger, stronger,
deeper, more athletic and more experienced Flyers came in and took
control of the game from the outset. They dominated us in the paint and
took us out of the game with their smothering defense in buiding a
14-point halftime lead. Our inside game was non-existent as we missed
several open looks from the perimeter. We were in trouble.

Basically, Dayton just came into our house, raided our fridge, sat in
our favorite chair, put their feet up on the table and took over the
television and made itself a home. We looked kind of helpless out there
as they came off the bench with one 6'9" player after another to rule
the paint. After some great road wins, we looked like we were smacked
back into reality as we faced the first of our major tests down the
stretch.

The second half was an entirely different story. Tired of being punked
and bullied in our own house, the kids came out and played a little
"Bully Beatdown" with the Flyers. My broadcast partner Bob Ramsey played
the part of the "Mayhem," the host of this popular MTV show, as he
gleefully called the action of the early Billiken onslaught that quickly
got us right back into the game. Kyle Cassity was on fire from the
3-point line while Kwamain Mitchell found some driving lanes to the
hoop. We really tightened up our defense as we held them to less than 30
percent shooting for much of the second half. The their previous three
wins, Dayton had scored 75, 90 and 78 points, but we held them to 54
points in regulation and 65 in a two-overtime game. Meanwhile, we hit
eight of our first 12 shots. We got the crowd back into it early and
they stayed for the duration.

Suddenly, we found ourselves up 46-42 after a driving layup by Christian
Salecich with seven minutes and 46 seconds left. We were looking pretty
good, but Dayton then responded with 12 consecutive points to take a
54-46 lead. Their top player, Chris Wright hit three buckets in a row to
spark the late rally.

We looked to be out of the game again, but the kids mustered up another
late rally to get themselves back into contention. Dayton helped us down
the stretch by missing some key free throws that would have clinched the
victory. A late-miss by Paul Williams led to one of the the most
dramatic shots in recent Billiken memory when Kwamain banked in that
nearly impossible 27-footer with the 6'8" Wright in his face with one
second left to force overtime.

The teams contined to battle on even terms until Cody Ellis swished home
the game-decider late in the second overtime on a great feed from his
Australian buddy Christian. He was looking for Kyle, but that was
covered, but Cody moved to the open spot at the head of the key and
Christian spotted him and Cody caught it and stepped into a textbook
jumper.

We managed to hold on from there for our most important victory of the
season to date. Kwamain finished with a game-high 21 points. Kyle had 14
points, including four of five from 3-point territory. Cody finished
with 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Willie had seven
rebounds and a huge block on their center Kurt Heulsman in the second
overtime period. Christian had four assists and no turnovers while
Justin Jordan came off the bench to score eight points. He had two nice
twisting drives to the hoop for scores in the first half. Brian Conklin
was big off the bench tonight with six points, five rebounds and two
blocks. He had three big points in the second overtime.

Outstanding.

The Student Section: What an incredible performance by our fans today,
especially the Blue Crew. They were on top of their game tonight. They
had the blue flashlights going in the dark during the announcing of the
starting lineups. During one timeout, while our prime-time pep band was
playing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, the kids were waving those
blue balloon-like joysticks (I don't know what you call them, but it
looked nice). They kept up the energy in the building as their
classmates on the court had to fight and scratch their way back into the
game. They had these giant cut out placards of Willie Reed, Brian
Conklin, coach Rick Majerus and Stephen Ercle. They were incredible
tonight. When the game ended, the players showed their appreciation by
running over to the Blue Crew section and celebrating the victory with
them. Willie was up on the table. What a scene that was.

Richard Chaifetz: Probably the most animated person in the building was
Dr. Chaifetz, the namesake of our home. He sat at midcourt and cheered
wildly throughout the game. He was on the referees while cheering with
all of his heart. When Kwamain flew out of bounds for a loose ball. He
was the first to help him up. When Kwamain hit that 3-pointer to put the
game into overtime, Dr. Chaifetz was on the court going crazy.

I'm like, "Wow! We've got our own Mark Cuban in the house." After the
game, he ran across the court to shake the hands of both head coaches.

Watching Dr. Chaifetz in action was almost as entertaining as watching
the game itself.

The Aftermath: With the victory, we are now 16-8 with a 7-3 mark in A-10
play, which puts us in fifth place as of today. We are really in the mix
right now. We have another toughie on the way as 19-5 Rhode Island comes
to town on Wednesday night. Rhody has dropped two tough games in a row
to Richmond and Temple, so they will be coming to the house with a great
sense of urgency. They are currently 7-4 and a half-game behind us. They
are athletic and they can really score, so it will be another big test
for our stout defense.

I loved the atmosphere of the game tonight, but we cannot make this a
one-time affair. As I have written and said of the radio before, we need
to see this kind of crowd and raucous atmosphere for the rest of the
season. I want to see 10,000-plus butts in the Chaifetz seats for our
four remaining home games. This is a very inspiring young group of
student-athletes that are making it happen and this is only the
beginning. You have shown that you can make a difference in the game
with your support.

It was appropriate that on this day, those great SLU teams of the
mid-90's were honored. When they first got started, the crowds were
relatively small, but once it got going, sellouts and 20,000 folks in
the house were the order of the day. Spoonball created such an
atmosphere that it was nearly impossible for a team to come into Saint
Louis and get a win.

That is what we're achieving now and your continued support and noise is
a must for the rest of the season. Just like the team itselt, don't not
rest on your laurels. Be prepared to have yourself ready for Wednesday
night's showdown with Rhody. No time to backslide now. The days of 6,000
and 7,000 in the house should be over.

Let's bring it strong once again on Wednesday.

See you then.

Go Bills!