First off, happy 2016 from everyone here at The Xavierite. With a new year comes more SXU sports teams to be cheered on, and supported by everyone here at SXU. For now, we’re talking basketball.
Men
Starting off with a quick recap of the men’s basketball team over the break, the men won eight of their ten games improving their record to an acceptable 12-7 record. Would they continue their hot streak over the course of the two games held this week?
Wed, Jan 20
The Cougars find themselves in a game against Cardinal Stretch University on their home court.
First Half
At the end of the half, SXU leads Cardinal Stretch by 14 big points. SXU can thank their hot 3pt shooting for that. As a team, they shot 8-16 from the three point line and four of those three’s came from guard Kyle Huppe, who had four three pointers to lead the team.
The hustle by SXU was also felt Cardinal Stretch as the Cougars had 11 offensive rebounds and 24 total rebounds, outrebounding CSU by seven. This is important, because rebounds and especially offensive rebounds can lead to more opportunities for a team to score.
If the Cougars want to pull out a win in this one, then all they need to do is continue to get rebounds, and make their shots.
Second Half
In the end, the Cougars beat CSU in what many would call a blowout, 93 to 58. The Cougars would continue their hot streak shooting a hot 60% on 9-15 shooting. The leading man for the Cougars was guard Quinn Niego who had an incredible game with 22pts, seven rbs, and three ast.
Sat, Jan 23
Moving on to their second game, the Cougars find themselves matched up in a game against their rival Olivet Nazarene on Nazarene’s court.
First Half
At the end of one, SXU find themselves down eight. While it may have been a bit of a lead built by Nazarene, there is no reason why SXU couldn’t have played themselves back into the game. What was hurting SXU here was the fact that they were getting outhustled.
Not only did SXU not have a single offensive rebound in the first half, but they were also getting doubled in total rebounds racking up 10rbs to Nazarene’s 20. Despite this, guard Quinn Niego still came to play leading the team with seven pts, two rbs, and an assist.
If the Cougars want to win this game, then they have to make more of their three pt field goals (only shot 1-5 in the first half), and grab more rebounds to create more scoring opportunities.
Second Half
In the end, SXU left this game without the win. While SXU would improve their three pt shooting making 5-15 shots, they still struggled to get any rebounds. SXU was outrebounded by 19 boards. SXU only grabbed 19 boards to Nazarene’s 38. The lack of rebounding leads to less scoring opportunities for the SXU and more for Nazarene.
Sophomore guard Larry Motuzis lead the Cougars with 14pts 2 rbs and an assist.
Women
Moving on to the women, although they lost a game over the break, they are still number one in their division making history for SXU women’s basketball, and showing no clear signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Wed, Jan 20
On this day, the Cougars matched up against Cardinal Stretch University.
First Half
At the end of the first, the Cougars were up 18 points on CSU. This early lead is a testimony to SXU’s incredible defense as SXU held CSU to 7-30 (23.5%) shooting from the field and 1-8 (12.5%) shooting from the three point line.
Also, the Cougars were hustling by grabbing nine big offensive boards and 28 boards total for the half; outrebounding CSU by 9rbs. Leading the half for the Cougars was guard Mikayla Leyden, who had 10pts, 6rbs, 2 ast, and a steal.
To pull out a win, the Cougars need to continue to be consistent on defense, and continue to get rebounds to create multiple scoring opportunities for the team.
Second Half
After two halves of solid basketball, SXU was able to pull out a dominant 34 point victory beating CSU 74-40. Although CSU was able to shoot better in this half, SXU completely shut them out with hot shooting of their own. The Cougars shot 15-27 (55.6%) from the field and 4-8 (50%) from the three point line.
Guard Mikayla Leyden led the team with 16 points, nine ast, nine rbs, and a steal. She was just a couple stats short of a triple double, but a great game from her and the whole team nonetheless.
Sat, Jan 23
The second game of the week for SXU against their rivals Olivet Nazarene in what will be a game to remember for the ages.
First Half
At the end of one, SXU found themselves down by a single point. Both teams went back-to-back with the scoring leading to a very close and high scoring half for the two teams. While SXU was shooting a solid 47% from the field and 46% from the field, turnovers were hurting them as they coughed up the ball an astonishing 16 times.
The leading Lady for SXU at the half was guard Mikayla Leyden, who had 16 points, seven rbs, and 3ast. If the Cougars wanted to walk away from this game with a win, then they better wipe off the butterfingers so that they can hold on to the ball more.
Second Half
At the end of this roller coaster ride of a game, SXU was finally able to catch up and put away Olivet with a 108-96 victory. At the end of the day, Nazarene Olivet could not stop the hot shot duo of the Splash Sisters, Mikayla Leyden and Kara Krolicki, as they combined for 74 of the teams 108 points.
Leyden had 26 points, eight rbs, six ast, and Krolicki had 28 points, three rbs, and three ast. Rebounding was another factor as SXU had 27 rebounds that lead to 21 second-chance points a big stat that can differentiate a winner from a loser.
As the SXU Women’s basketball team stand atop their conference, you have to applaud the effort and the heart shown by the team day in and day out to pull out the W. Let’s continue to show the SXU women’s basketball team support, and keep it locked here at The Xavierite for more sports updates.
Kenneth Washington
Deputy Sports Editor