SLU outlasts Belmont

The Billikids had to punch the clock on Wednesday night to take a hard-fought 75-67 victory over Belmont at the Chaifetz Arena.
It was a tough, physical game where both teams defended each other pretty well. It reminded me of a conference game instead of a game where two programs were meeting for the first time.
There were bodies flying everywhere, people diving on the floor and plenty of charges taken on the night. There were a total of 51 fouls called and both teams combined to shoot 63 free throws. Neither team shot well from 3-point range, but both teams found some success pounding the ball inside to their big men. My kind of game. Inside-out.
As I expected, Belmont provided the Bills with a pretty good test with their overall size up front and quickness in the backcourt. Overall, I thought the keys to the victory were our defense on the perimeter and offensive rebounding.
For much of the game, we really did a nice job of defending their perimeter players and we forced 19 turnovers. To do that against a disciplined team like Belmont was very encouraging to see.
We finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds, which helped a great deal since we shot only 41 percent from the field. Brian Conklin had a game-high six offensive boards while Corey Remekun came off the bench to grab three offensive rebounds.
Belmont did a nice job of getting the ball inside to their bigs and they caused us some problems, especially their 6'9" sophomore Adam Hedgepeth, who scored most of his 13 points in the first half. Luckily, he found himself in foul trouble and was forced to sit much of the second half.
For the first time this season, we had to play a big stretch of the game without Willie Reed, who picked up his second foul early in the game and sat out the last 15 minutes of the first half. We've seen the kids play large stretches without Kwamain Mitchell and Conklin this year, so I was interested in seeing how we would respond to not having Willie out there.
Willie's absence forced Remekun into more duty last night and the kid was tremendous with four rebounds, one steal and a season-high six blocked shots. Corey played a season-high 21 minutes and played all of them hard. Corey averages 12 minutes a game, so he was extended quite a bit.
He played himself into exhaustion a couple of times, which is understandable for someone who is not used to logging big minutes, especially against a team with excellent size. Corey played solid post defense and grabbed some key offensive rebounds to extend some possessions at key times of the game.
Corey was supposed to redshirt this year, but he has been pressed into duty as a young freshman and he has really improved since the beginning of practice. He is going to be a solid frontcourt contributor for this team because he doesn't mind doing the hard work, playing post defense and rebounding.
Before the game, I singled out Brian Conklin as someone who needed to come up big and he did an excellent job with 13 points and nine rebounds, which tied for the team lead. Brian was tough all night as he was at home with the physical nature of the game.
He got a little too physical near the end of the game when he picked up a technical foul for popping a pesky Belmont defender with an elbow after the player had fouled Brian upside the head and poked him in the eye at the same time.
It was good to see him get involved in the action offensively again after a few quiet games. He would have had an even bigger game, but he shot 7 of 14 from the free throw line. He has been very good despite still playing on that bad ankle.
The top scorers of the night were Kwamain and Willie. Kwamain finished with a game high 20 points on seven of 12 shooting from the field. With Willie out of the game with fouls, Kwamain felt the urgency of the moment and started to look for his shot aggressively, which I like. He got to the basket and hit some nice mid-range jumpers off the screen, plus he hit two of his three attempts from 3-point range.
Kwamain missed the last three minutes of the game when he was poked in the eye and had to be taken to the hospital as a precaution. Everything seems to be allright, but I still get a little nervous when I see our point guard being taken from the game after getting knocked around.
Justin Jordan did a nice job of holding things down when Kwamain left the game as Belmont made one final push at the end. J.J. hit four of his six free throws down the stretch and finished with eight points.
Willie finished the game with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in only 20 minutes of action. After sitting out most of the first half, the Bills went inside to Willie early and often in the second half and he responded quickly with a couple of quick baskets.
Femi John finished the game with five points and five rebounds, but was also saddled with foul trouble much of the night. Christian Salecich struggled with 1 of 6 shooting, but he made some key free throws down the stretch. Kyle Cassity was 1 of 7 from the field, but I think everyone was pleased to see Kyle look to take open shots, instead of looking to pass the ball. They just have to relax and play with confidence and the shots will start to fall again.
Overall, it was a nice win against a well-coached team that wins a lot and is accustomed to post-season play. Belmont is well on their way to 20 victories again and they will battle for the Atlantic Sun title. and just about everyone on their team will be back next year, so look out.
It was also good preparation for Saturday night's foe, Missouri State, which will be another tough game.
I'll have a preview on Saturday.
Until then, Go Bills!