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In the first half on Wednesday night, St. Louis University’s Gibson Jimerson was unstoppable as he scored 24 points and the Billikens opened up a 12-point lead on Massachusetts Lowell.

In the second half, Jimerson was stoppable and scored zero points but Isaiah Swope and Robbie Avila combined for 30 points, all but eight of the team’s points in the final 20 minutes.

It took an unconventional bit of math to get there, but it all added up to a 93-90 win for SLU over UMass Lowell at Chaifetz Arena. SLU led the entire game but came even closer to losing this game than the score would indicate. How close did it come? A fraction of an inch and a couple of tenths of a second did the trick.

A fraction of an inch was how much of UMass Lowell’s Quincy Clark’s foot was on the line, turning his potential game-tying 3-pointer into a 2. And a couple of tenths of a second, if that, was how late Yuri Covington’s 3-point attempt was at the buzzer that banked in and would have sent the game to overtime. In both cases, referees had to go to replay review and overturned the rulings on the court.

“Thankfully, I'm bald,� SLU coach Josh Schertz said, “but it did take years off my life. Twenty-seven years I've coached, the last four minutes was as good as I've ever seen shot-making. The degree of difficulty was unbelievable.�

He wasn't talking about his team. UMass Lowell made 9 of 11 3-point shots in the second half and made 11 of its final 13 field goal tries over the last 9:13 of the game.

“It’s definitely hard to continue to push,â€� said Avila, who finished with 23 points. “But I think it's just a testament to the guys just fighting through it. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were hitting really difficult shots, 3 after 3. The fall, slip down, step back 3 that ended being a 2. And then, even at the end there, throw from out of bounds, fade away, bank shot 3 that, luckily didn't count. But, just got to kind of fight through that stuff. Schertz always talks about doing whatever it takes to win. They hit tough shots and then we got to go down and score ourselves.â€�

When SLU needed someone to score in the second half, it was Swope and Avila. After Kalu Anya scored with 13:16 to play in the game, putting SLU up 75-54, its biggest lead of the night, only Swope and Avila scored the rest of the way. SLU couldn’t match UMass Lowell’s shooting and got outscored 36-18 over that stretch, but the two Indiana State transfers hit shots at key moments — a late-in-the-shot-clock 3 by Avila after UMass Lowell had gotten within a point with two minutes to play or Swope going 4 for 4 at the line in the final 4:04, including two in a one-and-one with 2.5 seconds left that forced UMass Lowell to go for the 3.

“Schertz kind of just goes to the hot hand,� Avila said. “Obviously, I made a couple buckets in that second half stretch. And so when we get down to the end of the games, he kind of draws up plays for whoever’s cooking at the time. At that time, me and Swope were kind of leading the way with the scoring in the second half.�

“I think they're the two guys down the stretch of a game that can get what they want,� Schertz said. “We call it money time. That's where players, coaches, everybody earns their money. Are we gonna be able to execute here down the stretch and get the ball in the right spots and make the right plays? Isaiah can get a shot anytime he wants, and he can get anywhere he wants on the floor. Doesn't always wind up with something good. And Robbie's pretty similar in that he can take you inside. He can take you outside. If you try to put a smaller guy on him, you can throw it to him in the low block. And now Robbie's gonna back you down and put you where he wants you. And then if you bring help, he's such a great passer.�

Swope, who had 30 points on Monday against Quinnipiac, scored 26. Jimerson had his 24 — he took just four shots in the second half as UMass Lowell tightened its defense on him — and Avila had 23. Anya had his second straight double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jimerson now has 1,940 career points and is 33 away from the school record.

Avila continues to take steps coming back from his second sprained ankle, though he was disappointed in his two of five shooting at the free throw line.

“I think that was a little bit better of a game,� said Avila, who scored 14 against Quinnipiac. “I'm still not quite there, I missed too many free throws, but I think I'm slowly getting there. Getting my legs back underneath me. I'm going to get back in the gym tomorrow, even though it's Thanksgiving, and still shoot some free throws. I got to be better on that aspect. But I'm just glad to be out here. It's a blessing to be able to play basketball. And I'm just taking it every day.�

With SLU up by one after Martin Somerville hit one of his six 3s to pull within one, Avila went to the hoop for a layup that made it 91-88 with 1:15 to play. The teams swapped empty possessions and with 19.8 seconds to go and SLU up three, UMass Lowell had a possession that looked it would end badly as the ball got loose but Clark put up a desperation shot with 3.5 seconds that the officials ruled a game-tying 3. But the replay showed Clark’s foot just touching the line, and that meant SLU led 91-90 and had the ball.

Swope was fouled on the inbound pass and made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left. UMass Lowell inbounded the ball and called time at midcourt, with 1.4 seconds left, enough time for one last shot. With Max Pikaar, who had just come into the game guarding the inbound pass, a long crosscourt pass that Max Brooks tipped to Covington, who caught the ball, spun and shot and made the 3. Again, the officials called it good, but the replay showed it was late and no basket.

“We really had the game under control,� Schertz said, “and then just completely lost our intensity on the defensive end, and that really set the stage for what they did down the stretch.

“I did think that that was the longest 1.4 seconds in the history of mankind. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were able to throw the ball in, catch the ball, then flip it to a guy coming behind, who also caught the ball, and then he shot it. And so I hope every second of my life, 1.4 seconds last as long as that 1.4 seconds. So I'm going to talk to the clock keeper on that one.â€�

After Kellen Thames missed all but the first three minutes of the second half on Monday with cramps, he missed the whole second half on Wednesday. He played 12 minutes in the first half and scored two points but spent the whole second half in the training room getting an IV.

“He wasn't feeling great before the game but we gave it a go,� Schertz said. “Same scenario. Obviously we got to come up with a solution for it, He's too valuable to be sitting out, playing 12-15 minutes a night in the first half, and then gone. I know our medical team’s doing everything they can to figure it out."