While the rest of the Saint Xavier students were at home with their families, the SXU Men’s Basketball team was busy playing games against 12 strong opponents.
The Cougars kicked things off by playing Robert Morris University on December 15th. Saint Xavier lead by 19 points going into the second half, but the Eagles were able to make a fiery comeback, tying the game at 72 with eight minutes left to play.
Much to the relief of the home crowd, the Cougars retook the lead and eventually won 99-93.
The next day, the Cougars played Lincoln College. SXU had a slim lead going into halftime, but was not able to fight off a Lincoln comeback in the second half and ultimately, lost by a score of 58-69.
After the Christmas holiday, the Cougars played Huntington University to end the year. It was a very close affair, with the game eventually getting tied up with 40 seconds left. However, Huntington forward Konner Platt shot the game winning layup with 30 seconds to spare. The Cougars were not able to score again and lost 91-93.
With that heart-wrenching loss in the rear view, Saint Xavier looked to kick off 2019 with a victory when they played Calumet College on January 3rd. Calumet had an early lead, but SXU made a fierce comeback and tied the game at 78 with 18 seconds to spare. Neither team was able to get a shot off and the game went into overtime.
The Crimson Wave completely dominated overtime, not allowing the Cougars to get a lead after first 50 seconds. They eventually won the game 90-86. Saint Xavier then looked to bounce back when they played Governors State a few days later. The team held a three-point lead going into halftime, but eventually squandered it and lost 70-76.
The Cougars finally won a game in the new year when they played Trinity Christian College on January 9th. They held a small, two point lead going into halftime and were actually able to keep the lead in the second half, eventually winning 89-85.
The Cougars wrapped up winter break on January 12th when they played Cardinal Stritch University. SXU actually kept it close in the first half, going into halftime only down by one. However, the second half was a complete drubbing of the Cougars, with them being outscored 49-25. Cardinal Stritch won the game 100-75, capping off Saint Xavier’s uninspiring winter break of basketball. The Cougars went 2-5 over winter break, bringing their overall record to 6-13.
Since school has started again, the team has looked somewhat decent, going 2-2 with wins over St. Francis (IL) and Silver Lake College. However, they also lost to Olivet Nazarene and were completely destroyed by Saint Ambrose in the same timespan, bringing their record to 8-15.
SXU plays twice next week, once against Calumet College at the Shannon Center and the other at Trinity International University in Deerfield. The Cougars hoped to turn things around over winter break, but that was the furthest thing from what actually happened.
Saint Xavier only has six more games to turn things around this year and if they don’t, they’ll be on the outside looking in come March.
Chris Leonchik
Sports Editor