ST. LOUIS (AP) — Amari McCottry scored 18 points, Dion Brown added 15 and No. 25 Saint Louis clinched the top seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament by beating Loyola Chicago 79-65 on Wednesday night.
The Billikens (27-3, 15-2) finished unbeaten at Chaifetz Arena for the first time in the building’s 18-year history and tied the school record with their 22nd consecutive home win, 19 coming this season.
Xavier Amos led the Ramblers (7-23, 3-14) with a season-high 25 points and Kayde Dotson scored 19. Amos made all seven of his shots in an 18-point first half, including four 3-pointers in a three-minute stretch to close an early 12-point deficit.
Last-place Loyola Chicago came in shooting just 31% on 3s, but kept it close by outscoring the nation’s top 3-point shooting team by nine from behind the arc.
Saint Louis made up for it by shooting 60% overall and finally put away the game with a run of eight straight points capped by Paul Otieno’s layup that made it 70-54 with 4:49 to play.
Robbie Avila had 12 points and six rebounds in his final home game, and the sold-out crowd chanted “Rob-bie! Rob-bie!” when coach Josh Schertz pulled him in the final minute.
After trailing by double digits in their previous three games, including their only two conference losses, the Billikens threatened to run away with this one early. McCottry and Brady Dunlap hit back-to-back 3s to finish a string of 12 straight Saint Louis points and make it 18-6.
After Amos’ flurry, Avila and Trey Green connected on 3s in a 10-0 burst to put the Billikens ahead to stay. Saint Louis led 40-32 at the break.
Up next
Loyola Chicago hosts George Washington on Saturday.
Saint Louis visits George Mason on Saturday.
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