After an 85-72 defeat to Roosevelt University, the Saint Xavier’s men’s basketball season is over. The Cougars lost on the road in the CCAC Tournament semifinals.
A slow start doomed the Cougars in the first half and trailed by 13 going into the second half. Roosevelt quickly found their rhythm in the first half, shooting 51%, while the Cougars struggled to find their shot, only shooting 35% from the field.
After a rough start, The Cougars shot the ball better in the second half, but Roosevelt kept up the pace and even improved their shot percentage as well.
The biggest offensive sparks for Saint Xavier came from seniors Quinn Niego and Jared Jones. They combined for 42 of Saint Xavier’s 72 points, Niego with 23 and Jones with 19. Senior Kyle Tackett had a strong game off the bench, tallying nine points, off 4-7 shooting, three rebounds and two assists.
Not much contribution after that for the Cougars, as many players struggled to find their shot.
Roosevelt had many players step up and had a complete game all around. Joshua Dillingham had 14 points to go along with nine rebounds, Jake Ludwig tallied 13 points with 11 assists and Carson Hughes led Roosevelt in scoring with 16 points, shooting 4-6 from the three point line.
The Season ends for the Cougars with a record of 19-13, improving their record from the 2016-2017 season. Just like this game, the Cougars had a shaky start to the season.
With an average record of 9-8 at the beginning of January, they ended the season with ten wins in the last 15 games, giving them a respectable record to close out the 2018 season.
Cougars had their share of thrilling games this season. A overtime thriller in November with Calumet College of Saint Joseph, was highlighted by a 31 point by Niego and a late clutch shot by Jones to give the Cougars the victory.
Despite the loss to Roosevelt, Cougars had one of their best games against them on November 29. Roosevelt came in the game undefeated, and scored a buzzer beater at the end of the game, which seemed the momentum would carry Roosevelt to a win, but Saint Xavier resilience in overtime, helped them knock off undefeated Roosevelt.
Next season will be a challenge for the Cougars, having to replace seniors Neigo, Jones, Tackett, and Niko Cahue. Four contributors, who logged in a lot of minutes this season.
The biggest loss will be Niego. His complete offensive game will be missed. A steady dependable scorer, averaged 21 points, but also a dependable rebounder and passer. He’ll go down as one of the better players in Saint Xavier men’s basketball history, finishing sixth all time in scoring with a total of 1,782 points.
Just like every college sport, underclassman are depended on to step up next season, when seniors leave. Sophomore Jack Brody and junior Tyler Diehl will be looked upon to carry the load next season.
Brody finished the season averaging 12 points and seven rebounds. His athleticism and knack of knowing where the ball will be on defense shows that his potential is very high.
Diehl finished the season averaging ten points, but showed ability to be an elite scorer, having three games this season where he scored higher than 20 points.
Though most teams believe a season ending with a loss is a disappointment, the Cougars were an improved team this season and shouldn’t keep their heads down for long.
Replacing the seniors will be tough, but the Cougars think they have players in place to compete next season and hope to continue trending in the right direction.
Dominic Pellegrini
Sports Reporter