SXU guard Sando Hill SXU Athletics
Saint Xavier University vs. Calumet St. Joseph 70-73 (L)
Saint Xavier University’s (SXU) basketball team was eliminated from the CCAC tournament 70-73 by Calumet St. Joseph on Tuesday, Feb. 25 on Bob Hallberg Court at the Shannon Center in Chicago, IL.
Senior guard Sando Hill scored a career high 27 points and he had a chance to tie the game as time expired, but this three-point attempt was off and the Cougar’s season was over.
Hill finished the game 9-14 from the field, 3-7 from behind the three point line, and 6-7 from the free throw line, along with rebounds in 35 minutes.
Power Forward Andre Brandon totaled 17 points, eight rebounds in 31 minutes of play.
Senior guard Jordan Jackson tallied eight points, and two rebounds.
As for the Cougars’ shooting stats, they were outshot 45.5% (22-42), to just 38% (24-63) from the field.
At one point, SXU found themselves down 37-17 in the first half before going on a 12-2 run to get the score to 39-29.
The Cougars fought hard to climb back, and in the second half SXU was only down 49-47. It was anyone’s game in the second half but St. Joseph had a tad bit more to pull out a win and advance into the next round.
It has been back to back years where the Cougars have lost their quarter final matches by small margins. Last year they were defeated by Indiana University at South Bend.
SXU’s goal was to make it far into the tournament, but they could not achieve that in the end. Their final record of the year was 19-10, a small improvement from last year where they were 16-13.
Players like Jackson had a very good season, averaging 16.0 points per game in 25 games played. Brandon had another great season for the Cougars as he averaged 13.3 points.
Men’s basketball commentator Jotham Israel, who was working the games, stated that, “ I thought this season was a roller coaster. This year’s team was very fun to watch, win or lose. The rise of the offense was insane. They averaged nearly 20 more points per game than last year’s team. Of course as an SXU student, I want to see them win every game they play, but as a basketball fan, I loved the thrill of seeing a close, highly-contested game almost every night.”
Charles Haltom, who was also a commentator this season, conveyed that “there were some mistakes that we could have dealt with better. We knew how to score the basketball, but sometimes we gave up easier baskets on the other end. But overall, I would say it was a good and fun season. Just think we could have cleaned up a few mistakes”.
From my standpoint, I thought the team played well. There were some games where they dished out 20 or more assists, which shows team basketball and effort to play the game the right way.
They have played some brilliant games like the one against Holy Cross College where they played an exceptional brand of basketball on both ends of the court.
The season is over, but the off-season starts now, with getting better and ready for the new season where they are looking to play their brand of basketball and are looking to make it far into the tournament.