Amari McCottry scored 18 points as No. 25 Saint Louis closed the home portion of its schedule a perfect 19-0 with a 79-65 win over visiting Loyola Chicago in an Atlantic 10 Conference game on Wednesday.
Dion Brown tallied 15 points and Robbie Avila pitched in 12 points as the Billikens (27-3, 15-2 A-10) clinched a share of the A-10 regular-season title, the No. 1 seed and double bye in next week’s conference tournament. Saint Louis also tied a school record with its 22nd straight home win.
Xavier Amos led Loyola (7-23, 3-14) with 25 points as he hit 6 of 7 3-point attempts. Kayde Dotson added 19 points for the Ramblers, who have lost five of their last six games.
The Billikens took an 18-6 lead when they got hot from long range as their reserve trio of Ishan Sharma, McCottry and Brady Dunlap nailed three straight treys. The Billikens bench held a 39-3 scoring edge for the game.
Saint Louis looked to be in control, but the Ramblers battled back with a flurry of threes from Amos.
He scored 12 straight Loyola points, all on shots from beyond the arc, as part of a 14-4 run that tied the game at 22-22 on Miles Rubin’s lefty-jump hook with 7:23 left in the half. Saint Louis closed the first half with a 10-2 surge that Avila and Trey Green kicked off with threes as the Billikens took a 40-32 halftime lead.
In the second half, Saint Louis opened with an 11-2 opening salvo that Green and Brown capped with 3-pointers for a 51-34 lead.
However, just like the first half, the Ramblers rallied as they connected on 3-point attempts. Dotson, Amos, Daniil Glaskov and Kayde Dotson drained treys on consecutive Loyola possessions as the Ramblers pulled within 55-46 with 12:01 to play.
Gradually, the Billikens pulled away, a 10-1 rally punctuated by Avila’s layup gave Saint Louis a 72-55 lead with 3:53 remaining. The Billikens held a 40-22 edge on points scored in the paint.
