With two games apiece shared between the men and women’s basketball teams, let’s see continued to assert dominance in their division for the week.
Men
Starting out with the men’s team, they stood at a 15-8 record heading into their two games of the week. Will they continue to improve their record and rise up the division rankings, or will they crumble under the pressure?
Wed, Feb 3
With their first game of the week, the 15-8 Cougars find themselves up against an 18-6 Robert Morris University squad. With both teams being so close in ranking, one can expect a close knit competitive game from the two teams.
First Half
Looks like I was wrong, because at the end of the first the Cougars find themselves down big to RMU;43-29. What really hurt SXU in this half was their shooting percentage.
SXU shot 10-27 (37%) from the field and 1-8 (12.7%) from the 3-point line, while RMU shot 17-42 (40.5%) from the field and 3-10 (30%) from the 3-point line.
Not only this, but SXU turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, allowing RMU to turn these turnovers into more scoring opportunities for them. Despite having a bad game all around as a team so far, guard Quin Niego showed up to play with 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
To comeback and potentially win the game, the Cougars would have to hold onto the ball, and take smarter shots in order to make a higher percentage of them.
Second Half
In the end, SXU got swept off the court losing the game 83-59. SXU had 9 more turnovers in the half, and this ended up hurting them because of RMU being able to convert the turnovers into points for them.
Not only this, but SXU continued to chuck it up from the 3-point line shooting 2-16 (8%) from the field. You know what they say, “live by the three die by the three”, and the Cougars did just that. Guard Larry Motusis ended the day with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist.
This is a game that I’m sure no one wants to remember, but with tragedy comes triumph. Through this major defeat the Cougars can take away all the negatives in this game, and turn them into positives to win the next game.
Sat, Feb 8
In their second game of the week, a now 15-9 SXU finds themselves matched up against a 5-19 Governors State University in what should be an easy W for SXU, but then again, no team should be taken for granted. Even the 8-43 Philadelphia 76ers gave the 46-4 Golden State Warriors a run for their money.
First Half
At the end of one, SXU finds themselves taking a comfortable 45-37 lead over GSU early. What became the factor here was SXU’s defense as they forced GSU to cough up the rock an alarming 10 times. Guard Larry Motusis is dialing it in early as he has 16 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist.
With an 8-point lead, SXU shouldn’t get too comfortable and continue to play tough defense, while grabbing rebounds.
Second Half
What ended up looking like a runaway game for SXU, turned into a heart breaking close loss to GSU; 87-81. SXU looked to struggle on defense as they allowed GSU to shoot 15-28 (53.3%) from the field, and 8-12 (66.7%) from the 3-point line. All of this was while SXU was still struggling to shoot 14-33 (42.4%) from the field and 2-13 (15.4%) from the 3-point line.
In the end, guard Larry Motusis finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assist. This was a game SXU should’ve won, but they got lax on defense and this really hurt them in the end. Let’s continue to show our men’s basketball team support.
Women
Moving on to the women, with no clear sign of slowing down, will anyone be able to stop the freight train that is the SXU women’s basketball team?
Wed, Feb 3
The 24-1 Cougars find themselves matched up against the 10-12 Robert Morris University.
First Half
At the end of one, SXU finds themselves leading in a close game by 3; 42-39. While SXU isn’t shooting from the field as well as RMU, they are outrebounding their opponents with 26 total rebounds, and 15 of which are offensive rebounds. These offensive rebounds allow for more scoring opportunities for SXU.
The leading lady for the half is guard Kara Krolicki. She had 13 points, 2 rebounds, and an assists. To finish out this game with a win, the Cougars need to continue to get the boards, while taking smarter shots to allow for a higher shooting percentage.
Second Half/OT
It was the second game in two weeks featuring overtime for the Cougars. With the game in guard Kara Krolicki’s hands late, all she had to do was make two free-throws. Not only did she miss one allowing for RMU to tie the game at 81-81, but Krolicki also turnover the ball in the last second, eliminating a game-winning shot for SXU.
Although Krolicki may have choked away the game in regulation, in overtime, Krolicki hit two clutch 3-point field goals early to give the Cougars the 99-91 win over RMU. In the end, Krolicki wins MVP for the game as she had 42 big points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Sat, Feb 6
With their second game of the week, 24-1 SXU finds themselves matched up against the 0-26 Governor State University in a battle of two teams with two varying level of success.
First Half
At the end of one, SXU finds themselves up big; 46-16. The number one factor in this game early for SXU was 3 pointers. SXU shot 7-12 (58.3%). Not only this, but SXU was playing some hard-hitting defense by forcing GSU to turn over the ball 8 times, while tallying 6 blocks as well.
The leading lady of the half was guard Kara Krolicki. Krolicki had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Second Half
In the end, the Cougars get the 20-point win over GSU; 84-64. While SXU slowed down their shooting (shot 2-14 from the 3-point line), they continued to play hard defense getting 9 steals, and forcing GSU to turn over the ball 16 more times in the half.
The MVP of the night sophomore guard Kara Krolicki who picked up 13 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. As the women’s basketball team continues to rack up the wins, let’s continue to support them and the men’s basketball team, and remember to keep it locked here at The Xavierite for more sports updates.
Kenneth Washington
Deputy Sports Editor