Miles Reynolds (SLU Athletics)
Saint Louis freshman guard Miles Reynolds scored a game-high 19 points, including 14 from the charity stripe, to help the Billikens to a 57-54 win over North Carolina A&T Tuesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
Saint Louis improved to 3-1 with the victory, while North Carolina A&T fell to 1-4. It was the Billikens’ second game of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic. SLU now heads to Corpus Christi, Texas, for a pair of games Friday and Saturday.
Reynolds added three steals and two assists in 21 minutes of play. His 18 free-throw attempts are tied for the fifth-most in Saint Louis history. Reynolds had to briefly leave the contest late in the first half after getting hit near his right eye. He received stitches at halftime and responded with a 15-point effort in the second half.
Austin McBroom nailed 4-of-6 treys in scoring 15 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer at the 2:44 mark of the second half. Ash Yacoubou chipped in six points and snagged a game-high five rebounds.
Bruce Beckford was 8-of-12 from the field in scoring a team-best 17 points for the Aggies.
The Billikens trailed by 10 midway through the second half but stormed back to post the win. A triple by Reynolds and a layin by Yacoubou pulled the Billikens to within five at 8:41. But NC A&T, which shot 46.7 percent in the second half, maintained its lead by hitting shots of its own.
SLU took the lead for good when it went on a 12-0 run late in the game. Included in the scoring rally were two treys by McBroom and five free throws by Reynolds.
The Billikens led by as much as eight in the first half, but trailed by one at halftime.
SLU’s first game in Corpus Christi is Friday against Mississippi State. Game time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (CT), and it will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Billikens will play either Bradley or TCU on Saturday at either 3:30 p.m. or 6 p.m.