No. 25 St. Louis gets unblemished home mark after defeating Loyola Chicago

Amari McCourtry had 18 points as No. 25 St. Louis wrapped up its perfect 19-0 home schedule with a 79-65 win over visiting Loyola Chicago in Atlantic 10 Conference action on Wednesday.

Dion Brown scored 15 points and Robbie Avila had 12 as the Billikens (27-3, 15-2 A-10) clinched the A-10 regular season title, No. 1 seed and a double-bye in next week’s conference tournament. St. Louis also tied a school record with 22 consecutive home wins.

Xavier Amos led Loyola (7-23, 3-14) with 25 points, making 6 of 7 3-pointers. 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 the reserve trio of Ishan Sharma, McCottry and Brady Dunlap got hot from long range, hitting three straight treys. The Billikens bench maintained a 39-3 scoring advantage in the game.

Saint Louis appeared to be in control, but the Ramblers countered with a 3-pointer from Amos.

He made it 12 straight Loyola points when he attempted a shot from beyond the arc as part of a 14-4 run that tied the score at 22-22 on Miles Rubin’s left-handed jump hook with 7:23 left in the first half. Saint Louis closed the first half on a 10-2 run, led by threes from Avila and Trey Green, as the Billikens took a 40-32 lead at halftime.

In the second half, St. Louis took the lead with an 11-2 lead, and Green and Brown hit 3-pointers to take the lead to 51-34.

However, just like in the first half, the Ramblers gained momentum by connecting on a 3-point attempt. Dotson, Amos, Daniil Glaskov and Kayde Dotson drained treys on consecutive Loyola possessions to put the Ramblers up 55-46 with 12:01 left.

The Billikens gradually pulled away, and a 10-1 rally led by Avila’s layup gave Saint Louis a 72-55 lead with 3:53 left. The Billikens maintained a 40-22 advantage in points scored in the paint.

–Field level media