Olean, New York – On a frigid evening in Western New York where temperatures dipped below zero, No. 24 Saint Louis University provided the heat with record shooting in a 97-62 victory over St. Bonaventure in an Atlantic 10 Conference game on Friday night at the Reilly Center.
Several records were either broken or tied on this night as the Billikens won their 13th consecutive game and improved to 7-0 in A-10 play. Their overall record of 19-1 tied the 1993-94 Billikens for the best start in school history. The 35-point margin of victory was the largest ever by a Billiken team in an A-10 game.
A national television audience on ESPN-2 got a chance to watch the Billikens tie a school record by making 19 3-pointers. The Billikens shot a torrid 57 percent from 3-point range as they made 19 of 33 shots from beyond the arc.
Junior guard Ishan Sharma made nine 3-pointers, which tied a school record by former Billiken great Gibson Jimerson. Sharma scored a career-high 29 points as he made nine of his 12Â attempts from long distance.
Junior guard Trey Green added 15 points, including five 3-pointers on the evening. Sophomore guard Amari McCottry was the third Billiken player in double figures with 12 points. Senior Robbie Avila and junior Quentin Jones added nine points each. The 6’10” Avila was a perfect three for three from 3-point distance.
The Billikens also played stingy defense as they limited the Bonnies to 34 percent shooting from the field while holding them to 15 points under their scoring average for the season.
Saint Louis will return to action on Tuesday night when they host George Washington in another A-10 game at the Chaifetz Arena. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.