Nov. 17, 2007

Box Score

St. Louis, Mo. - A three-point Furman halftime lead dissolved for good on a layup by St. Louis seven-footer Bryce Husak with 11:39 to play, and the Paladins were unable to slow the Billiken offensive machine, falling 83-69 on the road Saturday night. With the loss, the Paladins drop to 0-3 on the year, while St. Louis improves to 4-1.

Furman took a 39-36 lead into halftime on the strength of 60% shooting (6-for-10) from three-point range in the first period. Justin Dehm led the first-period Paladin scorers with 10 points on four-for-four shooting from the floor and a two-for-two mark from beyond the arc, while Bobby Austin added seven with a three-for-three performance from the field. In addition to Dehm's two treys, Austin, Tony Anderson, Noah States, and Alex Opacic all connected from three point range before the break.

A series of missed field goals early in the second half set the stage for the Billiken comeback, while SLU's Kevin Lisch poured in 13 second period points, Husak equaled his first period 10-point output and Barry Eberhardt contributed nine. In addition, rebounds, which were tied at 11 at the half, tipped in favor of Saint Louis 23-10 in the second period. Tommie Liddell, who sat the entire first half, brought fresh legs and an eight-point seven rebound effort to the floor.

"We played well the first half and for a stretch in the second, but in the last five minutes their maturity and savvy showed," said second-year coach Jeff Jackson after the game. "I thought this was a far better performance than last time out at Clemson, but in the last few minutes we just did not make the decisions we needed to make to beat a team like this on their home court."

The Paladin offensive effort was led by senior George Brozos' 14 points, while Dehm contributed 13 and fellow freshman Austin totaled 10. Stanley Jones led rebounding with five, while Tony Anderson dished off a career-high eight assists.

The Billikens were paced on the night by Lisch's 23 points, while Husak totaled 20, Eberhardt managed 15, and Luke Meyer tallied 11. Despite garnering 18 minutes - all in the second period - Liddell topped SLU rebounding, with seven.

The Paladins return to action on Friday, November 23, with a 7 p.m. home opener against Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern.