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But SLU guard Isaiah Swope had something coach Josh Schertz had said in his mind.

“Schertz told us early in the year, we’ll have probably over 70 percent of our games decided in the last four minutes,� Swope said.

Which proved to be the case. LMU cut the lead to six and would have had a chance to make it closer had it been able to get a rebound of a SLU miss with just over two minutes left. SLU survived a run of 6 minutes, 27 seconds where it made no field goals and just four free throws to beat LMU 77-71 on Saturday night before 5,210 fans at Chaifetz Arena. Two of SLU’s first three games have come down to the closing minutes.

“We did a lot of good things to win the game,� Schertz said. “Did a lot of things to put ourselves in peril. A lot of areas to grow and improve upon. Certainly the closing, from turnovers and some strange shot selection to defensive miscues, we got to be better down the stretch in a tight game to finish the right way.�

Swope and Gibson Jimerson each had 23 points, with Jimerson also getting seven rebounds. Kalu Anya had nine points, 13 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds, and five assists. Kobe Johnson, who had missed the first two games with a shoulder injury, returned to action. He started but played only 18 minutes and didn’t score, though Schertz brought him into the game in the closing minutes to play defense as the team tried to protect the lead.

While the last few minutes were a bit rocky, SLU (2-1) had looked good up until that point, using a couple of runs to build the lead. SLU closed the first half with a 12-2 run that turned a close game into a 12-point lead for the Billikens at the intermission.

Eight of SLU’s 12 points in that run came from Jimerson, and they were the ones that moved him from fifth to third on the school’s all-time scoring list as he passed Monroe Douglass at 1,877 and Roland Gray at 1,880. Jimerson finished the night with 1,892 points and is 18 behind Irwin Claggett for second place at 1,910, so catching him could come as soon as SLU’s next game, against Wichita State on Friday night in Kansas City. After that, only Anthony Bonner at 1,972 points will be ahead of him.

Swope also had a hot hand in the first half, making five of nine shots for 12 points. Included in those was something you won’t see very often from SLU: a mid-range jumper. The team’s offense is built around either scoring at the basket or making 3s. In the first two games, the only shot that wasn’t a 3 or a layup was one where Jimerson inadvertently had his foot on the 3-point line. But in the first half, Swope took three 12-footers, making two of them.

“I'm not 6-7,� said Swope, who is 5-10. “So sometimes getting down there too deep, it causes a lot of trouble. So just trying to keep the defense honest and if I'm open, just shoot it.�

“I don't mind Isaiah shooting them,� Schertz said, “because he can make him. Just got to get separation. The three shots were all, I think, wide open. He made two out of three. If he gets that separation, he can make that shot. I would call that a mastery shot for him.�

The good things SLU had done took a break starting with about 7½ minutes to go. Over a stretch of nine possessions, the Billikens had four turnovers, went 0 for 3 on 3s, missed two shots from in close and went 4 for 4 at the free throw line. It wasn’t until an out-of-bounds play with just under a minute left where Jimerson hit a corner 3 that SLU could feel safe again.

Johnson’s return was a surprise, since he didn’t resume full practice with the team until Friday but showed enough that Schertz started him, though his playing time was limited and he clearly wasn’t at his best. Schertz was high on the contributions that Larry Hughes II and Josiah Dotzler made off the bench in the second half. Dotzler played just three minutes in the first half, but 13 in the second, taking Johnson’s role.

“I thought Josiah’s minutes and Larry’s minutes were significant,� Schertz said. “We don’t win without Josiah, without Larry, because Kobe didn’t look like himself. Amari (McCottry, who played seven minutes in the first half and none in the second) struggled; that’s typical for a freshman.�

And getting Johnson back also brings SLU one step closer to having its full team together.

“It's great,� said Jimerson. “A big guard like that, long arms, obviously, experienced guy. He's one of our better on ball defenders. Obviously, he's got to get his wind back and stuff. He's been out for a little bit, but it was huge to have him out there. It's good to see him back. Obviously, we'll get back to it this week. He had some great plays for us down the stretch.�

The last piece is getting Robbie Avila back on the court, and it’s possible that happens against Wichita State.

“He was able to do some stuff today on the anti-gravity treadmill,� Schertz said. “So we did some running on that. I don’t know how fast it was but I also don't know how fast he runs normally. So whatever it was, he was on the anti-gravity running. And he's got benchmarks he has to hit. And if he can hit those benchmarks, the hope is, the north star is the Wichita State game, that he could be ready to go for that game. Doesn't mean it's going to happen. He and the medical staff will do everything they can to make it happen. But we're never going to put a guy out there if he's not ready.�