Focusing on placement in the standings was the last thing St. Louis University coaches and players wanted to do in recent seasons in light of the program’s lowly finishes.

But as coach Travis Ford tries to change the culture, he has raised the prospect of climbing in the Atlantic 10.

After a 1-4 start in the league, the Billikens have done just that and they continued the pursuit of higher ground Saturday night with a 73-50 win over Fordham at Chaifetz Arena.

“I like it because we’re trying to climb the ladder,” he said. “It’s always positive when you’re winning. We’ve talked a lot about where we stand in the league and what needs to happen. That’s my main focus right now.”

With the win, SLU (6-5 in the A-10, 13-11 overall) moved within a half game of third place. The Billikens have won five of their last six games, the only loss coming in overtime to VCU.

The win placed SLU above .500 in the A-10 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Billikens also surpassed their win totals of the previous three seasons.

“We’re coming together and establishing our roles right now,” guard Javon Bess said.

“We’re playing for a bigger purpose, for each other. Once we started playing together and relying on each other, our chemistry got better and we just took off.”

• BOX SCORE: SLU 73, Fordham 50

• STANDINGS: SLU tied for 6th in A-10

SLU opened a 19-point lead at halftime and had the fans chanting for walk-on Markos Psimitis in the closing minutes after maintaining a 20-point edge much of the second half. They got him with three minutes remaining.

SLU had two players finish with double-doubles. Bess had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Hasahn French tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Goodwin came up just short with nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Afterward, SLU players took what is becoming their usual trip into the full student section, and Goodwin stood atop the press table, raising his arms.

The Billikens face a tough stretch with three of the next four games on the road, starting at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. There is also much uncertainty about how the roster will look for the final stretch of the season, as results from the Title IX appeals are pending.

For the time being, things are clicking. Fordham (2-7, 7-14) didn’t get closer than 12 points in the second half, and when the Rams did try to make a run the Billikens shut it down quickly.

• SCHEDULE/RESULTS: 2017-18 SLU basketball

SLU finished the first half with a 15-0 run and was cruising despite being outrebounded and committing eight turnovers. The Billikens took control on the boards in the second half, finishing with a 17-rebound edge, and held Fordham to 34 percent shooting for the game.

“We know we’re one of the top rebounding teams in the league,” French said. “That’s something we talked about at halftime. We can’t let teams do that.”

SLU let the visitors hang around for 14 minutes before delivering a big blow. The Billikens put together their run to end the first half by pressuring the Rams into missing their last nine shots.

The combination of Fordham’s deliberate offense and SLU’s defense produced three shot-clock violations in the first 20 minutes. The Billikens forced 10 turnovers and held the Rams to 27.6 percent shooting in the first half.

SLU built its lead up to 21 points in the opening minute of the second half and then seemed to lose its energy.

Fordham made seven of its first 11 shots in the half and started chipping away. When Ivan Raut hit a 3-pointer with 11 minutes 43 seconds remaining, the Rams were within 12. Ford called a timeout with a media timeout coming any second.

SLU responded by scoring the next eight points to restore order and rebuild the lead to 20.

“We talked about wanting (the lead) to keep going up,” Bess said. “We wanted to keep them under 50 points. We did a good job of that on the defensive end.”

SLU helped itself by getting to the free-throw line early and often. The Billikens shot 33 free throws and outscored the Rams from the line 20-9. SLU made only 60 percent of its free throws but Fordham was worse, making nine of 18.