Billikens pick up first conference victory

Dwayne Evans scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season as the Saint Louis University Billikens ended a two-game losing streak while picking up their first conference win of the season, defeating George Washington 78-56.

"We gave it a good effort," SLU head coach Rick Majerus said. "We played good defense, especially our guards. "

The Billikens came out with aggression against the overmatched Colonials, and were encouraged by their performance following the team's first losing streak of the season.

"Obviously we are not 100% where we need to be," junior forward Cody Ellis said. "The first half was a bit sloppy. We had some bad mistakes on defense and didn't execute on offense, but we definitely are taking a step in the right direction."

"I think offensively we got the shots we wanted," Evans said.  "But defensively we still had some lapses that we were not giving up early in the season. "

Evans had a stellar performance, both offensively and defensively. His relentlessness around the basket resulted in a team-high eleven rebounds, seven of which that were offensive.

"I have to work on my consistency," Evans said. "But I definitely came out aggressive and looked not so much to score, but to put myself in a situation to score and make the right play."

"The box score is obviously impressive, he played a terrific," Majerus said. "But he missed 4 free throws. He wasn't shooting the ball real well, but that is the challenge of being a really good player. His energy and effort were great. "

The Billikens had control of seemingly every aspect of the game, including rebounding, which has been a weakness for Saint Louis all season. SLU finished the night outrebounding the Colonials 38-24, including 16 offensive rebounds. 

Kwamain Mitchell finished the night with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting while Rob Loe and Jordair Jett contributed with 11 and 10 respectively for Saint Louis.

David Pellom finished with 15 points on six of seven shooting to lead the Colonials. Tony Taylor chipped in with 13. George Washington drops to 5-10 on the season, 0-2 in the Atlantic 10.

The Billikens played without reserve forward Cory Remekun, who sat out of the game after spraining his left knee in practice on Friday. The junior is averaging 2.6 points in just over 10 minutes of action on the season, and did not make an appearance in a game for the first time in his collegiate career.

Rick Majerus will give his team a much-needed day of rest on Sunday before they begin preparation for perennial conference contender Temple, who visits Chaifetz Arena on Wednesday.