University of Houston Athletics
Men's Basketball Falls To Saint Louis, 67-64
1/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2002
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Chris Braun hit a layup with 16 seconds left, lifting Saint Louis to a 67-64 victory Saturday night over Houston in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Jason Edwin, who led Saint Louis with 13 points, hit two free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining for the final margin. Marque Perry added 10 points for Saint Louis.
Dominic Smith led Houston with 16 points. Kevin Gaines, who missed Houston's last shot with 3 seconds left, added 14 points.
Saint Louis (7-7) has won five of its last seven games. The Billikens has won five consecutive games at home. Houston (6-6) has lost its last four games to Saint Louis.
The Billikens ended with 23-for-60 shooting from the floor and 16-for-21 from the free-throw line. Houston was 20-for-47 from the floor and 22-for-36 from the free-throw line. Saint Louis outrebounded Houston 41-32.
Houston fought its way back from an eight-point halftime deficit and used a 7-0 run to tie the game 43-43 with 9:37 left. Saint Louis hit just three of 17 shots from the floor in that stretch.
Saint Louis took the lead on a 3-pointer by Edwin. But Houston scored six unanswered points for a 55-53 lead at the 6:09 mark. The Billikens then scored five points for a 58-55 lead but Houston retook the lead with a five-point run to lead 60-58 with 3:21 left. The lead changed four more times before Saint Louis took the lead for good.
Coming off the bench midway through the first half, Ross Varner gave the Billikens a spark when he scored all eight of his points. He hit consecutive baskets in a 7-0 that gave Saint Louis a 26-17 lead. The Billikens' biggest lead was 15 points at 35-20 with 3:57 left in the half.
