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Roberts helps Dayton outlast St. Louis, win 13th straight

Jan 13, 2008 - 5:35 AM ST LOUIS (Ticker) -- Saint Louis bounced back from one of the worst offensive performances in college basketball history, but fell short of ending Dayton's winning streak on Saturday.

Brian Roberts scored 30 points and Charles Little added 16 to lift the 22nd-ranked Flyers to a 68-57 victory over the Billikens in an Atlantic 10 Conference overtime thriller.

It was the 13th straight win for the Flyers, who are on their longest winning streak since they won 19 straight bridging the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons.

"We took a big step tonight," Dayton coach Brian Gregory said. "Obviously the win was important, don't get me wrong, but the best things for me as a coach was how we retained our composure. There were a couple of times I thought we were on the verge of losing our poise, but the guys on the court kept us together."

Saint Louis (9-7, 0-2 A-10) was coming off an embarrassing 49-20 loss to George Washington on Thursday, setting the NCAA mark for fewest points scored in a game in the shot clock era.

Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus put his team through a five-hour practice Friday and said he was pleased with his team's effort.

"I couldn't have asked for a better effort yesterday (Friday), both mentally and psychologically," Majerus said. "We looked at film, tried to remedy collectively on an individual basis some GW situations. Then we prepared for Dayton, and I thought they did a good job in terms of their commitment."

The Billikens gave the Flyers all they could handle, as the teams matched each other basket for basket during the entire second half.

Neither team led by more than three points in the second half, and with the game tied at 55-55, Roberts missed two potential game-winning shots in the last 12 seconds, sending the game into overtime.

But in the extra period, Dayton (14-1, 2-0) took over, scoring the first eight points to seize a 63-55 advantage with 1:26 left to play.

Saint Louis shot just 1-of-8 in the final five minutes and Roberts made all three free-throw attempts late to seal the victory.

"We kind of felt like we wore them down a little bit," Roberts said. "We wanted to keep the pace up and make it a fast tempo game. We just wanted to take advantage of that, and in overtime it worked out for us."

Roberts made 8-of-17 from the field and 11-of-12 free throws for Dayton, which failed to top the 80-point mark for the first time in five games.

"What can you say about Brian Roberts," Gregory said. "I had no idea he had 30 tonight, but that's what happens when a scorer only takes 17 shots. He wasn't shooting as well as he can, so he drove the ball more and was able to get to the rim and the line."

The Billikens, who shot a dismal 15 percent (7-of-48) on Thursday, eclipsed their total from their previous game at the 6:12 mark of the first half, tying the score at 21-21 on Bryce Husak's jumper.

Saint Louis guard Kevin Lisch made a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the half to tie the game, 30-30, at the intermission.

Luke Meyer had 19 points and Tommie Liddell added 18 for the Billikens, who were outrebounded, 39-24.

"A loss never feels good," Meyer said. "We played hard but at time we didn't play smart. At the end we let up a little it, made a few mental mistakes, and we couldn't recover."