Evans scores 22 and Saint Louis holds off George Washington, 66-58 for 11th straight win
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WASHINGTON (AP) — Dwayne Evans scored 22 points and Kwamain Mitchell added 18 and No. 18 Saint Louis won its 11th straight game, holding off George Washington 66-58 on Saturday.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Saint Louis (23-5, 12-2 Atlantic 10) holds a one-game lead over Virginia Commonwealth (23-6, 11-3), which routed No. 20 Butler 84-52 on Saturday.
Reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Kevin Larsen led George Washington with 14 points. The Colonials (12-15, 6-8) have lost three straight and five of six.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Colonials led by three with just over 7 minutes left when the Billikens put together a 10-0 run. Evans hit two free throws and then converted a layup when Mitchell's 3-point attempts came up short. Rob Loe, Evans and Mitchell all made two free throws on consecutive possessions to put Saint Louis up 55-48 with 4:20 left.
George Washington got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
Saint Louis finished 21 of 24 from the free throw line.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It is the Billikens' longest winning streak since they won 14 straight to start 1993-94.
Up by eight points and with the ball early in the second half, Saint Louis committed turnovers on seven of its next nine possessions as George Washington went on a 14-5 run and took its first lead of the game, 42-41, on a dunk by Nemanja Mikic off a steal by Lasan Kromah, who finished with 12 points.
The Colonials entered Saturday's game in a four-way tie for ninth place in the Atlantic 10 standings with Charlotte, Saint Joseph's and Saint Bonaventure, a game ahead of 13th-place Dayton.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The top 12 teams in the final 16-team league standings qualify for the 2013 A-10 Championship March 14-17.
The Billikens twice built eight-point leads in the first half, but went cold from the field as George Washington rallied.
The Colonials had a chance to tie it after Larsen was fouled while converting a layup with 4:15 left, but he missed the free throw.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After the teams traded baskets St. Louis went on a 7-1 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer from the corner by Rob, and took a 32-26 lead into halftime.