Javon Bess and Dion Wiley combined for four free throws in the final 1:11 Saturday night as visiting Saint Louis remained unbeaten with a 66-64 victory over Seton Hall in a nonconference game in South Orange, N.J.
Wiley had a game-high 17 points off the bench as the Billikens (4-0) prevailed in the schools' first meeting since 1972.
Myles Powell dropped in a team-high 16 points for the Pirates (1-2).
Saint Louis, a 17-game winner a year ago, led by as many as eight in the first half and 33-28 at intermission before two hoops early in the second half by Tramaine Isabell Jr., including a 3-pointer, opened a 10-point gap.
Seton Hall fell 12 back before chipping away, eventually getting to within 62-60 on a pair of free throws by Quincy McKnight with 1:39 to go.
But Bess and Wiley countered with two fouls shots apiece, and after Powell made it a one-point game with a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, Wiley hit the first of two free throws three seconds later for a 66-64 advantage.
Seton Hall took a shot at a win after rebounding Wiley's second-shot miss, but Sandro Mamukelashvili could not connect on a 3-pointer.
Wiley hit all three of his 3-point attempts to account for a majority of his point total. Saint Louis shot 5-for-8 on 3-pointers in the game, while Seton Hall was just 4-for-17.
Carte'Are Gordon chipped in with 14 points, Isabell with 13 and Bess with eight to complement a game-high 13 rebounds for Saint Louis, which was playing its first road game of the season.
McKnight finished with 14 points and Mamukelashvili 11 for Seton Hall, a 22-game winner last season who was coming off a 23-point loss at Nebraska.
--Field Level Media
Saint Louis | Seton Hall | |
Dion Wiley 17 | Scoring | Myles Powell 16 |
Jordan Goodwin 3 | Assists | Myles Cale 2 |
Javon Bess 13 | Rebounds | Sandro Mamukelashvili 7 |
Javon Bess 6 | Free Throws Made | Myles Powell 6 |
Tramaine Isabell Jr. 3 | Steals | Myles Powell 4 |
Carte'Are Gordon 4 | Blocks | Romaro Gill 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Saint Louis | 66 | 47.6 | 5-8 | 21-30 | 8 | 33 | 7 | 8 | 24 |
Seton Hall | 64 | 33.3 | 4-17 | 22-31 | 4 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 9 |