The Saint Xavier University Men’s Basketball team began their 2013-2014 campaign at home against Indiana-University Northwest last Tuesday night. The Cougars were ready to play and pounced on the Red Hawks immediately on their way to blow out victory in their opener in front of the home crowd.
It was a close game at 0-0 but after that the Cougars got serious and went on a 15-4 run in the first five minutes of action. The team jumped out to a 20 point halftime lead after shooting 50% in the first half. They would continue to dominate after halftime leading by as many as 36 points on their way to a 95-71 victory.
The team was led by senior guard Brad Karp who had 25 points on 12 for 21 shooting for the game. Sophomore forward Josh Mawhorr had a remarkable game with 19 points seven rebounds and eight assists on a perfect 7 for 7 from the field.
New transfer senior guard Michael Simpson had a solid game in his debut for the Cougars after transferring from Cardinal Stritch University. The new lightning quick guard had nine points on 3 for 7 shooting to go along with four assists and a couple steals.
After throttling the Red Hawks at home the Cougars went on the road to take on Silver Lake College in Wisconsin. It was a very close game in the first half that saw the Cougars down by two at halftime 45-47. When halftime was over the Cougars came out of the locker room primed for an offensive explosion.
The team went on a 14-0 run after halftime to take a 57-49 lead after being down by two at the break. They would not look back on their way to 113-88 road victory. The Cougars shot a blistering 82% in the second half including making all five of their three-pointers en route to putting up 68 points in the half.
Star guard Brad Karp packed the stat sheet leading the team with 34 points, 15 rebounds, and six steals on 13-16 shooting. Simpson had a better scoring output than the first game finishing with 17 points this time around. Mawhorr finished with 17 points and two steals and new transfer junior forward Andre Arrington finished with nine points on the night for the Cougars.
The team looks a little different from last season after losing four seniors but you can tell after the first two games that the Cougars are still fully capable of dominating like last season especially when their clicking on all cylinders.
They will look to win their conference and go farther in the NAIA Division II Tournament after last season’s second round loss.
Next up for the Cougars will be the two day Trinity Christian College Classic that starts at 6 pm on Friday Nov. 15.
Damone Griffin
Sports Editor