The Saint Louis men’s basketball team opened their season on a positive note with a 69-45 win over Eastern Illinois at the Family Arena in St. Charles. The Billikens normally play at Savvis Center, but the Blues game moved them west on Tuesday.
Danny Brown was the leading scorer for SLU with 16 points, as four Billikens reached double-figures. Tommie Liddell had 13, while Ian Vouyoukas and Kevin Lisch added 12 apiece. Liddell also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
The Billikens’ defense was solid throughout the game, but shined in the first half, holding EIU to 19 points and 28 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes. Eastern Illinois shot just 34.6 percent for the game and dropped to 0-2. SLU also tied a school record with 10 blocked shots, with Liddell recording four of them.