The Saint Xavier University men’s basketball team has ended their regular season as well as their Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) tournament with an overall record of 28-5. SXU fell just short against Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.) in the tournament championship, but due to being the runner-up in the tournament as well as finishing second in the regular season conference standings, the Cougars advance to the 2013 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championships that will commence on Wednesday, March 6, in Point Lookout, Mo.
In order to get to the conference championship, Saint Xavier had to beat two tough teams in Holy Cross College (Ind.) in the conference quarterfinals and the Indiana University-South Bend (IUSB) Titans in the semifinals.
SXU battled the HCC Saints on Wednesday, February 20, just four days after playing them in the regular season finale at the Shannon Center in Chicago. The Cougars prevailed by 11 points, 95-84, and the win marked the third time that Saint Xavier beat Holy Cross in the 2012-13 season.
SXU was led by a pair of seniors in Anthony Grant and Roosevelt Green who chipped in 23 and 21 points, respectively. In addition to the scoring by Green, he totaled eight assists as well on the evening.
Junior guard Brad Karp reached double figures in the contest as well with 15 points to go along with seven boards in 33 minutes of action. The Cougars took full advantage of their free throw opportunities in the game going 25-of-34 in the contest as opposed to 4-of-4 for the visiting Saints.
Saint Xavier had to travel to Milwaukee, Wis., for its tournament semifinal match-up with the IUSB Titans on Friday, February 22. SXU was led by sophomore guard Jack Krieger who had a game-high 15 points including shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the three point arc en route to the 64-46 victory.
Green and Karp also reached double figures in the game with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Cougars played lockdown defense including holding the Titans to a shooting percentage of 40 percent in the first half, zero three point shots in the game (0-for-8) and forcing IUSB to turn the ball over 10 times.
Saint Xavier had their 17-game winning streak come to a halt on Saturday, February 23, up in Milwaukee, Wis., against the host CSU Wolves in the CCAC Tournament finale. SXU fell by nine points with Cardinal Stritch coming away with an 84-75 victory.
The Cougars were led by Karp who tallied a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds in 38 minutes of playing time. Senior forward Dominique Harvey provided a spark for Saint Xavier off of the bench scoring 18 points.
Grant and Krieger poured in 12 and 11 points, respectively. SXU kept the game close in first half and went into the halftime intermission down by only two points, 39-37.
The host Wolves came out determined in the second half going on a 12-6 run over the first five and a half minutes of the frame and taking an eight point advantage, 51-43. The hosts pushed their lead up to as many as 12, 74-62, with just over two minutes remaining and the Cougars were able to cut the lead in half, 81-75, with 16 seconds remaining, but the rally was too late as CSU was able to hang on for a nine point victory.
Saint Xavier will await the seeds and pairing announcement around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27, to find out who they will be playing in the 2013 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championships that are set to begin on Wednesday, March 6, in Point Lookout, Mo. The 32-team tournament is sure to provide much excitement and WXAV 88.3 FM will be covering all of the action of the National Championships so be sure to check out sxustudentmedia.com for all of your Cougar basketball coverage.
Greg Pilafas
Deputy Editor in Chief