SLU at Dayton

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Records ? SLU 15-12, 8-6 in Atlantic 10; Dayton 12-14, 6-8

About the Billikens ? Hasahn French was named the co-rookie of the week in the A-10 based on one game. He had 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals against Richmond. He also became the all-time blocked shot leader among SLU freshmen with 52. ... Javon Bess has recorded four consecutive double-doubles, averaging 13.8 points and 12.3 rebounds during that stretch. ... The Billikens have won three of their last four road games.

About the Flyers ? Dayton is the top shooting team in the A-10, hitting 48.6 percent of its shots. ... The Flyers are the last team that outrebounded the Billikens, winning the battle 32-28 at Chaifetz Arena. ... Forward Josh Cunningham ranks seventh in the country, shooting 65.5 percent. ... Dayton has posted some good home wins, including St. Bonaventure (82-72), VCU (106-79) and Davidson (65-64). ... The Flyers shoot 74 percent from the free throw line.

 

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SLU's Ford mimics last season's formula with short bench



St. Louis University?s most recent ? and possibly most improbable ? win of the season provided the first look at how coach Travis Ford plans to adjust playing time as the Billikens try to survive with a seven-man roster.

The answer: not much.

Ford basically stuck to using six players in Saturday?s win at Richmond. Center Rashed Anthony picked up five minutes in reserve. Walk-on Markos Psimitis didn?t leave the bench.

If SLU can remain competitive and picking up wins, he sees no point in changing because this is pretty much what Ford was doing in the closing two months last season, when the Billikens made do with little use of reserves.

?I have thought about that,? Ford said. ?It?s the same situation numbers-wise. Almost identical. We?re doing some of the same things. We?re trying to control the pace of the game to help us with the short bench as much as we can.?

To get by at Richmond, Ford had four players log 35 or more minutes. Jalen Johnson started and played 21 minutes, Aaron Hines provided 30 off the bench and Anthony received his handful.

Whether Ford can count on that formula to produce such glowing results when the Billikens play Tuesday night at Dayton and moving forward remains to be seen.

SLU shot 58 percent, avoided foul trouble and did not get overly fatigued down the stretch while fighting off the Spiders? attempt at a comeback. All of that on the road and without Jordan Goodwin in the lineup for the first time this season.

So, the A-10 has a scenario that no one expected with four regular-season games remaining.

SLU is in fourth place in the Atlantic 10, one game ahead of VCU, St. Joseph?s and Richmond. The Billikens have climbed the standings in the midst of penalties being revealed in the Title IX investigation and losing a starter, who contributed a little bit of everything.

?I know where we are, but I don?t spend a lot of time looking back,? Ford said. ?There?s no focus on how we got here. I am proud of these guys. We?re shorthanded and I said after the (Richmond) game that we?ve faced a lot of adversity but we?ve got to prepare for another game.?
Ford relied on seven players in the second half of the conference schedule last season and went 8-9 down the stretch with a group that was less athletic, physical and talented. Johnson, Hines and Roby were in that group.

They are helping to do again this season what they learned last season. After struggling late in games against VCU, George Mason and Davidson, the Billikens have toughened up in the closing minutes of tight games.

The win at Richmond came after fighting off La Salle and St. Joseph?s down the stretch.

?Any time you win, you gain confidence,? Ford said. ?For our guys, we?ve done a better job of making free throws down the stretch. But it?s mostly been about our defense. We?ve been doing a good job of defending and rebounding and controlling the time on the clock. Our time management has been good.?

And as long as the Billikens stay out of foul trouble, the management of playing time might work. Despite the shortage of personnel, the Billikens don?t have anyone among the top 10 in playing time in the A-10.

Ford expects a different type of game from Dayton than Richmond. The Flyers are one of the few teams in the A-10 that can match up against the Billikens physically. Ford would prefer SLU take its chances in a physical game rather than see the Flyers create an uptempo pace.

?They?re one of the more physical teams in our league,? Ford said. ?We?ve done a good job of rebounding lately with a fairly good margin. This is one team that can match us size-wise and athletically.?