ST. LOUIS – A seven-minute scoreless stretch at the end of the first half, proved costly for SIUE Friday in a 68-41 loss to Saint Louis in front of 8,175 at Chaifetz Arena.

The Cougars, now 4-6, pulled within two points at 16-14 with a Kris Davis three-pointer with 9:05 to play before halftime. Saint Louis then reeled off the next 13 points to balloon its lead to 29-14. Davis snapped the scoreless streak with another three ball with 1:59 to play in the half, but it was the only points the rest of the way for SIUE. The Billikens ended the half on a 20-3 run and led 36-17 at the break.

"That stretch was critical," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy."

Saint Louis, 9-3, connected on 50 percent (15-30) of its shots for the first half and for the game (28-56). The Cougars struggled from the field, and primarily during the first half. SIUE shot 31.9 percent (15-47) for the game, but landed just 6 of 27 (22.2 percent) in the first 20 minutes.  

"I don't think we played with much toughness tonight," Forrester added. "We knew they (SLU) were a good defensive team."

SIUE was 9 of 20 in the second half and was outscored by the Billikens just 32-24, but it wasn't enough to come back. The Cougars got as close as 19 points (46-27) in the second half when Tim Johnson hit a three-pointer with 11:24. The Billikens' largest lead was 28 at 65-37 with 3:06 left in the game.

Jerome Jones led the Cougars with 15 points, including 11 in the second half. Davis was the only other SIUE player in double figures scoring. Davis scored 12 points, including the two three-pointers in the first half.

Senior Mark Yelovich returned to the Cougars lineup after missing the last five games with an ankle injury. Yelovich played 16 minutes and scored four points and grabbed three rebounds. Michael Messer and Derian Shaffer each hauled in seven rebounds to lead the Cougars, who fell to 0-5 on the road this season.

Saint Louis got a game-high 16 points from Mike McCall Jr. and 14 points from Dwayne Evans. Cory Remekun grabbed 10 boards for the Billikens, who outrebounded SIUE 38-26.

The 41 points scored by the Cougars was a season-low for a Saint Louis opponent. The Billikens have held their last three opponents to fewer than 50 points. It is the fourth time this year that SLU has allowed less than 50 points.

 The Cougars next begin Ohio Valley Conference play with a two-game road trip to Kentucky. SIUE plays at Morehead State Thursday night before traveling to Eastern Kentucky Sat. Jan. 5. Tipoff Thursday is 6 p.m. CT.