SXU Seniors and Their Family Members Grouped Together to Celebrate Senior Day
SXU Athletics
Believe it or not, we have made it to this point of the season where the regular season is coming to an end. Which means that these are the last few games ever for all SXU seniors on the basketball squad.
It’s only right for Saint Xavier to honor their seniors and give them a proper farewell and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.
The senior Cougars were able to present themselves and their loved ones together at center court and be showered with a standing ovation from the crowd.
On Valentine’s day, the seniors were able to share their love for the game as they thought back to freshman year and how far they came along to today. Reminiscing their favorite moments with teammates, coaching staff, and their most memorable game.
Although the day is special and the festivities ran all day, a game still had to be played and it was time to win.
The Cougars saw themselves going up against the University of St. Francis (Ill.) one of their conference rivals. Before meeting, the St. Francis Bulldogs held an impressive record of 18-6 and in SXU’s previous meeting against the Bulldogs, they fell short by one point.
It was important for the Cougars to rally together and pull off an impressive win on Senior day. Which they ultimately did, beating the Bulldogs with a final score of 85-69. The Cougars now stand at a record of 11-14 and a conference record of 9-9.
It was only right that the seniors stood out and dominated this ballgame as we saw outstanding performances from seniors, Davion Lawrence, Ashton Atwater, and Jerry Abushanab.
Lawrence led all scorers with a career high 24 points and grabbed four rebounds. Lawrence was on fire, shooting 8/11 (72%) from the field and hitting four threes in the match.
Atwater finished the game with 23 points, four assists, and two rebounds. Atwater shot 8/13 (62%) from the field and knocked down all six free throw attempts.
Abushanab finished the match with 11 points and tied with junior forward Marko Tojagic for a game high seven rebounds.
Abushanab spoke on what it takes from him as a player to continue to win and be the kind of teammate his guys need.
“Just continue to bring contagious energy no matter the circumstances… basketball is a chaotic and unpredictable sport so staying level headed gets rewarded throughout the course of games.”
Saint Xavier honored seniors, Jerry Abushanab, Ashton Atwater, Mason Kibelkis, Davion Lawrence, Grant Martin, Ike Nwaobi, DJ Shelton, and Mekhi Wilson.
With two more games remaining on the schedule, the Cougars intend on finishing the season strong. They’ll be matched up against Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) looking to sweep the season series. Action takes place on the road, heading to Whiting, Indiana on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7:00 PM.