ST. LOUIS – Fred Thatch Jr. scored a career- and game-high 21 points, and Saint Louis led the entire way en route to a 90-64 victory over La Salle Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
The Billikens, who swept the season series vs. La Salle, improved to 18-8 overall and 9-4 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Explorers fell to 7-16, 2-11.
Thatch's 8-of-11 shooting effort included 2-of-2 from 3-point range, totals that helped SLU register season highs of 64.3 percent (36-of-56) overall and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from 3-point range.
The Billikens out-rebounded the Explorers 40-21, led by Thatch's game-high seven boards and six apiece from Francis Okoro and Marten Linssen. Yuri Collins collected a game-high six assists, including the 500th of his career, and DeAndre Jones had four helpers.
Jordan Nesbitt (6-of-10 overall, 3-of-5 from the arc) tallied all 16 of his points in the first half to help drive the Billikens to a 19-point edge at the break. Terrence Hargrove Jr. (5-of-8, 2-of-3 from deep) finished with 13 points, while Gibson Jimerson (5-of-9, 2-of-4) chipped in 12.
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SLU sprinted to a 7-0 lead, and the closest La Salle came after that was 12-9. A 12-2 spurt, including five points apiece from Thatch and Jimerson, turned a 16-11 advantage to a 28-13 cushion with 10:50 left in the first half. The Billikens increased the margin to 21 before settling for a 51-32 halftime lead.
Saint Louis led by as many as 29 points on three occasions in the second half.
The Billikens take on A-10 leader Davidson Saturday, Feb. 19, in Davidson, N.C. Tipoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. Central,. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network and over the radio airwaves on KMOX 1120AM and 98.7FM.