Wednesday, November 4
It was two games in two days for the men’s basketball team, and the first game they competed in to start off was against Huntington University, Saint Xavier’s first road game. It was a pretty lopsided first half as Huntington had a 16pt heading into the second half.
Huntingtin shot a hot 53.8% from the field on 15-28 shooting, and shot an alarming 13 free throws in the first half as well. SXU shot 39.1% from the field on a woeful 9-23 shooting. The only reason they weren’t getting totally blown out was the fact that they were able to shoot 12 free throws converting on 10 of them.
Looking at the hustle stats, Huntington won the rebounded battle getting 20 boards to SXU’s 10. Five of Huntington’s 20 boards were offensive creating more for them to score second chance points.
Leading the Cougars at the half was guard Stanley Moore, who had 9pts, 2rbs, and 2ast. To comeback in this game the Cougars would need to hustle a lot more, getting rebounds and running the fast break. SXU would also need to improve their defense in order to slow the hot shooting that Huntington was enjoying early.
Second Half
While SXU was able to hold Huntington University to 41.2% shooting from the field, they were still unable to obtain the victory at the end. What really hurt SXU down the stretch was the ridiculous amount of turnovers they had.
Coughing up the rock 16 times, SXU created easier scoring opportunities for Huntington on the fast. Also, Huntington was able to move the ball around more efficiently with 19ast, which crushes SXU’s woeful 8ast.
The leader for SXU at the end of the game was guard Stanley Moore, who had 27pts 7rbs and 3ast for SXU.
Friday, November 5
This was the second game for SXU, and they were matched up against Grace College in their second road game of the season.
First half
At the end of 1, the score was 45-28 with SXU down 17 at the half. Looking at the stats, both teams shot horribly from the field. SXU was shooting 23.1% from the field on 6-26 shooting, and Grace was shooting 30% from the field on 17-34 shooting.
Even though both teams had problems scoring, Grace College was able to put up and convert on more shots due to their excellent rebounding. Grace had 28rbs to SXU’s 11, and 9 of those rebounds were offensive rebounds allowing Grace College to obtain second chance points.
Leading the way for the Cougars at the half was sophomore guard Larry Moturis, who had 15pts 5rbs and a block at the end of the first half.
Second half
At the end of the game, SXU was once again unable to obtain a victory. While we did shoot better from the field in the second half, Grace College was killing us with the hustle stats totaling 47 rebounds for the game with 15 of them being offensive boards.
Leading the way for SXU in the game was sophomore guard Larry Moturis, who was the only Cougar to score in double figures with 30pts 7rbs and 2stls.
Women
Moving on to the women’s basketball team, they opened up their season on the road against Asbury University.
First Half
At the end of the first, SXU was up 9pts with a score of 42-33. Looking at the stats, even though SXU’s offense wasn’t all their, their defense was strong as they had a total of 5 blocks and forced 12 turnovers while obtaining 10 steals.
This harkening defense created numerous scoring opportunities for the Cougars in the first half of play. Leading the way for the Cougars at the end of the first half was guard Xara Krolicki, who had 13pts 2rbs and 2 steals.
Second Half
At the end of it all, SXU was able to get the strong win with a score of 83-75. The second half came and SXU’s defense did not let up as they forced Asbury to commit 20 turnovers in the game, which SXU was able to turn into scoring opportunities for themselves.
The leader for the Cougars was guard Kara Krolicki, who totaled 23pts 4rbs and 3stls.
Saturday, November 7
In their second game of the season, SXU matched up against Governor State University.
First Half
For the first half, SXU came in like a wrecking ball by straight up dismantling GSU with their superior defense. The Cougars held GSU to a pitiful 18.5% on 5-27 shooting from the field, while they shot 45.9% on 17-37 shooting.
SXU was also out hustling GSU too as they obtained 7 more rebounds than GSU putting their first half total to 25. The leading scorer for the women at the end of the first half was guard Casey McMahon, who had 6pts 1rb and 3ast.
Second Half
In the end, SXU was able to achieve the win. GSU was looking like a team full a Kobe’s with their terrible shooting. For the game, they shot 27.1%. This poor shooting clip is all because of SXU’s strong defense, which lead them to win this game in which they totally blew out the other score.
The final score was 95-48. Leading the way for the Cougars was Sarah Vorel, who totaled 15pts 8rbs and 3stls. Let’s continue to show both our Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams support, and keep it locked here at the Xavierite for more sports updates.
Kenneth Washington
Deputy Sports Editor