A wonderful season of Saint Louis University basketball officially came to an end on Wednesday night as Virginia Commonwealth defeated the Bills 71-65 to win the College Basketball Invitational. A short-handed Bills roster of eight scholarship players and a walk-on put up a gritty and game effort that has become symbolic of the 2010 season, but it was not enough on this night as the size, depth, athleticism and experience of the Rams finally took their toll in the late minutes. VCU wins the best of three championships series in two games.

  SLU got out of the gate quickly and raced to a 9-0 lead. The Rams reeled us back in and took a 20-16 lead, but the SLU defense took over and held the explosive Rams down for the remainder of the half to take a 33-24 lead. The Bills played some of their best half-court defense of the season in the final stages of the first half.

  The second half belonged to VCU as they shot 56 percent from the field and scored 47 points. They shot 52 percent from the field. Guard Brandon Rozzell came off the bench to score 27 points while power forward Jamie Skeen scored 16 points. With the scored tied at 61-61, Skeen scored consecutive baskets in the last two minutes to give the Rams its final advantage.

  Our youngsters were clearly out of gas, but they continued to battle valiantly through the fatigue to have a chance to win the game. Guys were banged up and playing hurt, but they toughed it out the best they could. Although it ended it a loss, it was still inspiring to watch.

  Two unsung heroes of last night’s effort were freshman forward Cory Remekun and freshman walk-on Darrin Young.

  Remekun turned in the best performance of his young Billiken career with 13 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Cory provided us with a tremendous burst of energy with six offensive rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. He seemed to be everywhere last night.

  And what a night it was for Young, the freshman guard from Kirkwood High, who was pressed into duty as the only available guard off the bench. Young played 11 minutes and scored five points and made all three of his free throws. Darrin’s five points came during a key stretch in the middle of the second half when we were trying to hold off the Rams. The young man was fantastic. His name is rarely called for action, but when it was, he  was ready to play and he produced in a most meaningful way. Young D.Y. has to be saluted for having a positive attitude and keeping himself ready.

  Willie Reed led the way with 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks. He provided one more highlight-reel play late in the game with a swooping one-handed tip-dunk. Kwamain Mitchell ended his tremendous sophomore year with nine points and four assists while Chrisitan Salecich finished with 13 points.

  The Billikens finished their remarkable and surprising season at 23-13. The attendance of 5,612 was our biggest of the four postseason games and the crowd was very vocal. I was pleased to see that many of them stayed around after the game was over to give the kids a well-deserved ovation for what they accomplished this season.

  As I’ve repeatedly said, this was the toughest and most resilient SLU team that I have been around in my 19 years of broadcasting SLU basketball and last night’s effort just reinforced my beliefs.

  They battled through all kinds of adversity to win 23 games and finish fourth in one of the toughest conference in the country. With everyone expected to return for next season and some promising new recruits on the way to add to the talent base, we are looking forward to an exciting season in 2011.

  I hope everyone enjoyed watching their Billikids this season. They gave us plenty of thrills and the unexpected pleasure of watching them on the final day of March. The crowds at the Chaifetz Arena provided a great home court advantage and the student section was tremendous this year, especially from February on.

  Next week, I will provide my special post-season analysis of the 2010 season, which will include my top 10 moments of the year.

  Once again, congratulations to coach Rick Majerus and his staff and a tremendous group of young student-athletes for making this a special season.

  Go Bills!

Photo courtesy of Leon Algee