SXU Athletics
The men’s basketball team added two victories to their record as they hosted the Saint Xavier University Classic on Nov. 28 and 29 on their home court in the Shannon Center.
The Cougars took on the University of Rio Grande on Nov. 28 at 6 p.m.
Despite the Cougars’ 83-70 victory over the Red Storm, they had a slow start.
SXU fell behind 20-10 in the first seven minutes of the game. A shot from downtown by senior guard Jack Krieger, right before the halftime buzzer, put the Cougars ahead by just one point (41-40). SXU led the entire second half of the game.
Freshman guard Larry Motuzis led the Cougars in points, totaling 26.
Krieger followed with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Mitch Uratchko, a junior forward, posted eight points and nine rebounds.
The University of Rio Grande’s strong start began with five layups giving them an early 10-4 lead. Prior to Krieger’s three-pointer, SXU took a 12-2 run to tie the game at 22-22.
Uratchko’s layup early in the second half gave the Cougars an 11-2 run and a double-digit advantage (52-42).
The Red Storm came as close as four points to the Cougars, but the Cougars never fell back.
A pair of free throws by Motuzis, with three minutes left to play in regulation, put the Cougars up by 12 (72-60).
The Cougars hit the court again the next day to play Marygrove College in a 3 p.m. game.
Once again, the Cougars struggled in the first half of the game with a 19-point deficit but turned it around toward a victory (96-90).
Krieger came to his team’s rescue again, contributing a game-high 32 points. With only six minutes left in the first half, the Cougars were down 40-21, but took a 17-6 run to cut the deficit to only eight (46-38) at half.
The Cougars shot 54 percent from the field (15-for-28) and 93 percent from the free throw line (26-for-28) in the second half.
Krieger made all 15 of his free throw attempts count for the Cougars, which all contributed to the 32 points he scored for his team. This was a career-high for Krieger.
Junior guard Stanley Moore racked up 18 points, and Motuzis contributed 16 points and a game-best 11 rebounds.
Tony Core, a junior forward, recorded 13 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Huppe, a sophomore point guard, posted 12 points.
Early on in the second half the Cougars were down by 14 (54-40) but took a 15-4 run which stemmed from seven of Krieger’s points; at this point, SXU was only down by three (58-55) with 14 minutes left in the game.
At the halfway point of the second half, a layup by Motuzis put SXU ahead by one (65-64), which was the Cougars’ first lead of the night.
A 13-1 run with seven minutes left in the second half, following a three-pointer by Huppe, put the Cougars up 86-76 just with three minutes left to play.
With less than a minute left in the game, the Mustangs came within three points of SXU (88-85), but the Cougars kept pushing ahead, converting eight of its last 10 free throw attempts to give them the win.
The Cougars hit the court again to play Judson University. The away game will take place on Dec. 6 at 3 p.m.
Alexis Flamburis
Sports Correspondent