Friday, October 30th
SXU basketball team competed in their first game of the season at home competing against Lourdes University. Looking at the first half, the Cougars struggled with shooting a poor 9-31 from the field (29%), while Lourdes University was shooting a white hot 14-25 (56%) from the field.
Their struggles to produce consistently from the field caused the Cougars to be down at the half, 35 to 27. Sophomore guard Larry Motuzis was leading all scores, shooting 5-11 from the field, including a 3pt field goal.
Looking at the other stats, Lourdes University outdid the Cougars with total rebounds, but the Cougars did have more offensive boards, leading to more second chance opportunities. SXU struggled to move the ball as they had a grand total of one assist to Lourdes University’s eight.
To only chalk up one assist in twenty minutes of play is unacceptable, as a team needs to be able to move the ball around and find better chances to score. The fact that Lourdes University had 8 assists by the half demonstrates as to why they’re shooting a high percentage from the field.
Moving the ball created better scoring opportunities for them. In the end, the Cougars lost their season opener. Lourdes University would prove to be too much as they matched their hot shooting stroke from the first half with a 19-27 (70%) shooting stroke in this half.
While SXU improved their woeful shooting to a better 13-29 (44.8%) from the field, Lourdes University’s hot shooting and better overall team chemistry (18 assist to SXU’s 9) propelled them to a victory here. Senior guard Stanley Moore was the highlight for the Cougars as he had 23 points on an efficient 8-15 shooting, and also had six threes to add to his list as well.
Sunday, November 2nd
After dropping their first game of the season at home, the Cougars hope to obtain a victory against the Silver Lake College Wolves. At the end of the first half, the Cougars were up by nine with a score of 40-29.
By the half, sophomore guard Larry Motuzis was leading the Cougars with 20pts on a hot 8-12 shooting, and 6 rebounds to go with it. The Cougars seemed to address the issues from their last game as they moved the ball around better totaling seven assists.
This led the Cougars to shoot an effective 14-27 (51.9%) from the field. While the Lake College Wolves were shooting an effective 12-28 (42%) from the field, their eleven turnovers in the first half were definitely hurting them in this game.
The Cougars would win this game, 85-63. Motuzis had an incredible game as he finished with a double-double. He had 31pts and 11rbs. Motusis also had three 3pt field goals in this game as well.
The Cougars struggled in the second half, shooting 10-29 (34%) from the field. Where their offense failed, their defense came through. The Cougars finished with ten steals, and forced nineteen total turnovers, while holding the Wolves to below 45% shooting from the field.
Let’s continue to show the Cougar Basketball team support as they look to compete in their next game against Huntington University this upcoming Wednesday, November 4.
Kenneth Washington
Deputy Sports Editor
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