Dec. 9, 2001

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Josh Fisher scored 13 first-half points, and Saint Louis University rode a hot-shooting second half to a 63-49 win over the University of Denver on Sunday night at Savvis Center.

Junior guard B.J. Pratt (San Antonio, Texas / Converse Judson HS) led all scorers with 17 points, and senior forward Wahhab Carter (El Reno, Okla. / El Reno HS) added eight points and eight rebounds.

Saint Louis (3-5) held a 21-10 edge on the glass in the first 20 minutes, and the Billikens hit on 56.7 percent of their field goals (17-of-30) to take a 39-22 lead into the locker room. The Pioneers (2-4) went up 6-4 on a 3-pointer by Pratt, but that would be the final lead of the game for Denver as Saint Louis went on a 15-4 run over the next 4:39 to go up 19-10. SLU then hit three straight bombs to go up 28-17. Neither team went to the free-throw line, and both teams were charged with just one foul in the opening 20 minutes.

Both teams traded baskets in the first five minutes of the second half as SLU took a 43-26 lead with 15:00 to play. The Billikens used a small 9-6 spurt to increase the lead to 20 with 7:47 to go. The Pioneers got two baskets from Carter and another three from Pratt in addition to two free throws to pull within 15 (56-41) with 3:43 left, but the Billikens held off the late surge. In addition, Denver hit just five of its 11 free-throw tosses in the second half.

"Saint Louis showed that they are extremely quick on the offensive end, and we broke down defensively," said head coach Terry Carroll. "I thought we came out well on the defensive end early on, and then we had a lapse. Give our guys credit for the job they did in the second half. We had three straight possessions where we could have cut the lead to single digits, but we missed the opportunity. Jamaal Ramey showed that he can contribute valuable minutes for us. The guys got tired, and I thought Jamaal did a great job of stepping up. We're looking forward to having two games coming up against intrastate rivals. These are two huge games for us."

The Pioneers now return home to Magness Arena for two games this week against Mountain West Conference foes. Denver faces Air Force on Wednesday, Dec. 12, and Colorado State on Saturday, Dec. 15. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. MST, and the Colorado State game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net Rocky Mountain.