GAME NOTES: The Saint Louis Billikens gun for their third win in a row today, as they invade the Mullins Center to do battle with the Massachusetts Minutemen in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Billikens enter the contest having won two straight and three of their past four outings. On Wednesday, SLU used a tremendous defensive effort to score a 63-38 victory over George Washington. With the victory, the Billikens pulled to .500 in league play at 5-5 and moved to 14-10 overall. As for UMass, it has struggled a bit of late, losing three of its past four contests, including two in a row. The team was last in play on Thursday, when it was upended, 76-72, by Fordham. With the loss, the Minutemen fell to 15-9 overall and 4-6 in conference play. UMass was defeated by SLU, 71-59, on February 2nd, giving the Billikens a 4-2 lead in the head-to-head series.

The Billikens did it with defense on Wednesday, holding George Washington to a horrific 26.9 percent shooting effort from the floor in a lopsided win. Offensively, SLU did most of its damage from behind the arc, where it went 14- of-27 for the game. Bryce Husak led the charge with 15 points and five boards, while Kevin Lisch had 11 points and six assists. For the season, Lisch paces the squad in scoring at 13.9 ppg and he is shooting 38.5 percent from long distance. Tommie Liddell III has provided a nice complement to him, as he contributes 11.8 ppg and 4.1 rpg. The Billikens have fared well on defense this season, limiting opposing clubs to just 58.4 ppg and 41.0 percent shooting from the floor.

UMass is one of the top scoring teams around, as it is producing a healthy 82.0 ppg on 43.9 percent shooting from the floor. Gary Forbes paces this potent attack with 20.4 ppg and 7.8 rpg and he is also handing out 3.1 apg. Rick Harris has formed a solid one-two punch with Forbes and he nets 18.2 ppg, to go with his team-high 41 steals. Etienne Brower adds 12.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg to the mix, while Chris Lowe turns in 12.3 ppg and a team-best 5.3 apg. In the squad's prior contest, Forbes notched a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough for UMass in a 76-72 loss to Fordham. Brower tallied 17 points and Lowe dolled out 10 helpers. The Minutemen shot 41.2 percent from the floor, but they were outscored at the foul line, 22-8 in the setback.

The Minutemen are the more dangerous team here and with Forbes leading the charge, they should be able to get back into the win column today.