The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team defeated the Fordham University Rams by a score of 78-56 on Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena. The matchup pitted SLU, one of the best offenses in the country, against one of the most resilient defenses in college basketball in Fordham.
Entering Wednesday, SLU established itself as a legitimate threat by riding a nine-game win streak. The Billikens opened their season 15-1, their best start since the 1993-94 season. They have eclipsed 100 points in a game six times this season.
SLU, which has not been nationally ranked since the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly made the latest AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll on Jan. 12. The team’s only loss came against Stanford, 14-4, by a one-point margin in the Acrisure Invitational.
The Billikens came out firing against the Rams early. Brady Dunlap, the redshirt sophomore, drained a pair of threes early, celebrating by shooting finger guns at the student section.
The Bills led 19-9 after 10 minutes, pushing the pace as Fordham failed to convert on multiple offensive chances. Even though Fordham trimmed the deficit and attempted to slow the momentum with scattered timeouts, Saint Louis never appeared threatened. With a few minutes left in the first half, a Kellen Thames slam dunk sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
The Billikens entered halftime with a comfortable lead of 44-30.
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Head Coach Josh Schertz spoke to the home-court advantage of Chaifetz Arena after the game. The game served as the first home game in-conference since students returned from winter break.
“Having the students back was awesome. There is nothing like having the Billiken students back … they put the wind at our back. Our guys thrive off that,” Schertz said. “Saint Louis is a great sports town … it is a knowledgeable sports town … we couldn’t appreciate [the students] more by coming out and supporting us.”
In the second half, Fordham switched from a zone defense to a man-to-man scheme. Regardless, the Billikens continued to pass the ball efficiently and secure open looks at the basket. Guards Kellen Thames, Quentin Jones, and Amari McCottry all had solid performances. All three scored in double figures, with Jones notching his 1,000th career point.
Dion Brown and Robbie Avila also contributed significantly to the team’s victory. Brown dished out four assists while making several hustle plays. Avila also had 9 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
“We wanted to make it hard on them … that’s the versatility of our team … is to put together a game plan that we think has the best chance to win [that] the players bring to life,” Coach Schertz said.
Saint Louis extended their school-record Chaifetz Arena winning streak to 15 straight games, going back to last season.
Two points shy of the 80-point Shake Shack promotion, SLU fans began chanting “Shake Shack” within the final minute of play. The promotion offers a free ShackBurger to SLU fans when the team scores 80 or more points in a home game. Coach Schertz, as well as Thames and Jones, quipped about this notion in the post-game press conference.
The Billikens will host the Richmond Spiders on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Chaifetz Arena in what should be another interesting in-conference test for the team.