SXU guard Jordan Jackson SXU Athletics
Saint Xavier University vs. Trinity Christian College 95-76 (W)
Saint Xavier University’s (SXU) men’s basketball team saw a 95-76 victory in their CCAC game at Trinity Christian College on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at the DeVos Gymnasium in Palos Heights, IL.
Redshirt sophomore Mason Kibelkis steered the Cougars to a win following his 18 points. 15 of those points came in the second half. Kibelkis was 6-9 from the three point line in only the 14 minutes that he played.
At the 7:22 SXU found themselves up 35-23 but the Trolls rallied back behind a 17-5 run to see the game tied 40-40 at the half.
With 7:50 left in the second half, Kibelkis connected with a three to put the Cougars up 13 and seal a dominant win on the road.
The team shot the ball efficiently as they shot a season’s best 61.7% (37-60) from the field. SXU also shot well from three, shooting 55.6% (15-27) from downtown. Again, SXU added another game where they produced 20 assists, their third in a row.
Senior forward, Kevin Bishop, produced 17 points on 8-9 shooting. He also added six rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
Senior guard, Sando Hill, concluded the game with 13 points along with six assists, four rebounds and a steal.
Senior guard, Jordan Jackson, had a final stat line of 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and a season-tying four blocks on the defensive end.
Senior forward, Andre Brandon, collected 12 points, seven rebounds, and two steals.
One of the important aspects for SXU in this game was that they got 48 points from their bench which is always a huge plus for any team. They also dominated the paint scoring 40-22 which was also key to the win.
Saint Xavier University vs. IU Northwest 92-80 (W)
Continuing on to the weekend’s events, SXU matched up against IU Northwest and collected a 92-80 win on Saturday Feb. 2 at the Bob Hallberg Court at the Shannon Center.
Senior guard, Jordan Jackson, tallied a season-high 31 points to give SXU the victory. Jackson shot 8-14 from the field, and was 14-14 from the charity stride.
An interesting stat from this game is that Jackson is tied for the fifth most foul shots made in a game in program history and he tied the single-game record for most free throws made without a miss
The Cougars had a strong first half, they played well on both ends of the court. SXU shot 46.3% from the floor and 9-16 from the three. SXU were up 19 at the half and were dominating the game.
The Cougars were up as much as 25 and they locked in their second consecutive win a row to aim for the top of the conference.
Brandon recorded his fifth double-double of the season scoring 16 points, with 11 rebounds, and three assists.
Junior guard, Deontrae Warren, had eight points and three rebounds off the bench.
SXU’s shooting splits from the game were 30-70 (42.9%), 12-25 (48.0) from downtown, 20-24 (83.3%) from the free throw line. They continue to shoot well from the floor which is key to collecting wins.
Junior guard, Ashton Atwater, ended the game with 12 points and added three rebounds and an assist. They also had another 22 important points from their bench as IU only had seven.
As far as SXU in the standings, they still sit in the NO. 2 seed with a record of 11-3 and an overall record of 16-6.
SXU’s future contest will be at the Shannon Center where they will play Viterbo University on Wednesday Feb. 1. Tip off is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.