The SXU Men’s Basketball team wrapped up their regular season schedule this week with some average play. The Cougars kicked off the week on Wednesday, February 19th when they played the St. Francis (IL) University Fighting Saints.
Saint Xavier entered the game with an 18-9 record while St. Francis (IL) entered the game with a 10-17 record.
The first half started off somewhat close, with both teams trading leads for the first six minutes. However, everything after that was completely dominated by the Cougars.
The Cougars were led by point guard Joshua Evans and forward Jack Halverson, who scored a combined 27 of SXU’s 47 first-half points.
The Cougars defense took care of the rest, only allowing the Fighting Saints to score 18 points in the final 10 minutes, compared to 23 for the Cougars. The first half eventually ended with SXU in the lead 47-32.
The second and final half was even worse for the Fighting Saints, as the Cougars completely dominated them on both offense and defense.
This time, it was three SXU players who combined for over half of SXU’s points. Point guard Josh Niego, forward Jack Brody, and Joshua Evans combined for 29 of SXU’s 43 points in the second half.
The Cougars defense was a bit shakier than the first half, but they still held firm and helped the Cougars get a 90-69 win.
Saint Xavier improved to 19-9 with the win, while St. Francis (IL) fell to 10-18 with the loss. Saint Xavier head coach Tom O’Malley also got his 1,000th victory as a head coach with the win.
The Cougars next game was on Saturday, February 22nd when they travelled to South Bend, Indiana to play the IU-South Bend Titans. The Titans entered the game with a 21-8 record.
The first half started off close, with both teams trading leads. That was until the final five minutes of the half.
That was when IU-South Bend’s offense started to pull away from SXU, outscoring them 14-9 in the final five minutes.
The first half eventually ended with IU-South Bend leading Saint Xavier, 44-39.
The second half featured some very close action, but IU-South Bend was always one step ahead of the Cougars until the final three minutes of the game.
The Cougars, who were down by six at this point, started to attempt a fiery comeback. That comeback included two three-pointers from point guard Mike Shepski and two points from Joshua Evans and Josh Niego.
However, it was too little too late, as the Titans were able to halt the comeback and eventually win 87-81. Saint Xavier fell to 19-10 with the loss, while IU-South bend improved to 22-8 with the win.
With the loss, Saint Xavier wrapped up their regular season schedule.
The Cougars will next participate in the CCAC Conference Tournament from February 26th to March 2nd. If they win it or do well enough, they will advance to the NAIA National Tournament from March 11th to 17th.
Saint Xavier will need a good CCAC Tournament performance if they want to make it to the NAIA Tournament, as their end of season play has left a lot to be desired.