Collins Dissects BC’s Defense in SLU Win
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
Yuri Collins heaved the ball down the court for Terrence Hargrove Jr. It bounced in the middle of the paint, perfectly timed for the streaking Hargrove, who caught it and elevated for an emphatic, two-handed slam. The 6-foot-4 sophomore forward swung around the rim before dismounting with 2.5 seconds left on the clock. It was an exclamation point on Saint Louis’ 79-68 victory over Boston College Saturday night.
And it was the icing on the cake for Collins’ record-breaking performance. That pass was his 19th assist of the night, the most in single-game SLU history and the most by a Division I player this year.
After turning the ball over a combined 10 times during the Billikens’ two-game losing streak, Collins bounced back with a surgical performance. He helped SLU (8-3) dissect an Earl Grant BC defense that came in ranked third in the ACC in points per game allowed.
Collins scored two of the Billikens’ first four buckets, but the Eagles (6-4, 1-0 ACC) kept pace in the early going, thanks to a 3-pointer from Kanye Jones.
But BC, which had outrebounded seven of its first nine opponents this season, was unusually bad on the boards in the opening period. SLU, quite frankly, was more physical. The Billikens had a 16-9 advantage on the glass by intermission with five offensive rebounds in the first 12 minutes and change.
Where SLU dominated was the interior. When all was said and done, the Billikens outscored BC in the paint, 34-26. Francis Okoro finished with three blocks and made things tough for Eagles backcourt duo Jaeden Zackery and Makai Ashton-Langford in the lane.
The first of five Gibson Jimerson 3-pointers staked SLU to a 16-11 lead midway through the opening period. Toward the end of the half, BC’s already up-and-down offense came to a screeching halt.
The Eagles missed 12-of-13 shots and went scoreless for 3:57. The Billikens closed the frame on a 16-5 run with Jimerson (11 points) and Collins (eight assists) leading them to a 36-19 advantage at the break.
Collins kicked off the second half with a 3-pointer. SLU shot 11-of-27 from downtown. It was an impressive showing from a Billikens team that scores just 24.7% of its points from beyond the arc (305th nationally, according to KenPom). Not only that, but it was uncharacteristic of BC, which entered the weekend having held opponents to 32.4% shooting from long range.
The Eagles, on the other hand, didn’t have much luck from deep. They finished 3-of-17 from 3-point land, and two of those makes came in the latter stages of the second half. BC was sorely missing Brevin Galloway, the team’s most active 3-point shooter who is out until at least January with a knee injury.
But the Eagles did shoot the ball better in the back half of play. They hovered around the 53% mark and connected on 13-of-16 shots from the charity stripe. The Langford brothers piloted the ship offensively, teaming up for 27 in the period. Makai Ashton-Langford finished with 18 points, while DeMarr Langford Jr. added 14 more.
The problem was, BC couldn’t stack stops. At least not consistently. The Eagles cut their deficit to 14 with a 9-0 run. But then SLU ended its five-minute drought with a pair of Marten Linssen free throws and a Jordan Nesbitt 3-pointer to extend its lead to 59-42.
The Billikens had four players finish in double figures, but Collins stole the spotlight. He was lofting alley-oops for Okoro, slipping passes to Hargrove and kicking the ball out to Jimerson on the wing.
He also took two hard charges in the second half.
Grant turned to the full-court press late in the frame, and BC stitched together a 12-1 run with a bit more than a minute left in the game. It started with a Zackery layup and ended with an Ashton-Langford 3-pointer. The Eagles made it, 75-68, with 16 ticks to go.
The game was never really that close, though. A pair of Jimerson free throws and the game-ending Hargrove dunk sealed the deal.
BC dropped its 11th straight road game, dating back to the 2019-20 season, and the Eagles took a step back after poking their head out of the valley with last week’s blowout victory against Notre Dame.
