Bess, Saint Louis halt Murray State's five-game win streak (Dec 12, 2017)

By AP
Published

ST. LOUIS (AP) Javon Bess tallied 20 points, six rebounds and five steals and Saint Louis took over to begin the second half and beat Murray State 69-55 on Tuesday night to snap the Racers' five-game win streak.

Jalen Johnson contributed 10 points and 14 rebounds, Hasahn French added 16 points and nine boards and Davell Roby scored 12 for the Billikens (5-5), who had dropped five of six since opening the season 3-0. Saint Louis and Murray State hadn't played since the 1998-99 season and the Racers fell to 0-8 all-time against the Billikens.

Jonathan Stark scored 18 to pace Murray State (6-2), while Ja Morant added 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and Shaq Buchanon scored 11.

The Racers led 31-28 at halftime, but saw the lead disappear quickly after intermission. Roby nailed a 3-pointer to tie it at 31 and buried another 3 to put the Billikens up 36-33 just 2:04 into the second half. Saint Louis never trailed again. French's dunk capped a 29-8 run and gave the Billikens a 57-39 lead with nine minutes to play.