Forward Andre Brandon attempting a shot for SXU SXU Athletics
SXU vs. St. Francis: 77-75 (W)
The Saint Xavier men’s basketball team battled against St. Francis on Wednesday, January 17 on the Bob Hallberg Court at the Shannon Center. SXU came away with a win in a thriller matchup with a final score of 77-75.
The Cougars were 4-6 from the freethrow line in the last 17 seconds to come out victorious.
Freshman guard Jordan Streeter made one of two from the line while Brandon shot 3-4 down the stretch.
Streeter’s 36 minutes on the court led to seven points with four rebounds, a block, and a steal.
USF had a big chance to tie the game with 0.3 seconds left by missing a free throw, but the rebound and tip-in didn’t fall.
Senior guard Cedric Johnson recorded 26 points on the night with 10 rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes of play. Along with the game high in points in rebounds, he had his fifth double-double of the season
Brandon came away with 20 points, eight rebounds,and one assist. This was his third consecutive game that he has scoured 20 or more points. Brandon was efficient from the floor, shooting 7-13, and 3-6 from downtown.
Freshman forward James Stevenson concluded with 14 points, five rebounds, two steals, and one assist. This is the third time in five games he has scored over 10 points.
Junior guard Trey Ward also provided some scoring off the bench for SXU. He finished the night with seven points, one assist, rebound, block, and steal.
As a team, the Cougars shot 27-49 from the floor (45.8%), and 5-12 from behind the arc (41.7%). From the freethrow line they connected on 18 from 27 attempts (66.7%).
SXU was on a 9-0 run midway through the game, going up 28-20 to give the Cougars some momentum. Despite the run, St. Francis came back and was down by three at the halfway mark.
Saint Xavier had another great run, an 11-0 run in the second half that gave SXU a 12 point lead, 54-42.
USf made another comeback to cut the deficit to 3 and at this point the score was 70-67.
Both teams played well on both ends of the court but it was the clutch free throws that counted and those went SXU’s way.
SXU vs. ONU : 76-75 (W)
The Cougars faced off against Olivet Nazarene University on Saturday, January 20 at the Shannon Center for an electrifying win.
Saint Xavier walked away with a 76-75 victory after a brilliant play from Johnson with 2.8 seconds left on the clock.
Johnson led the way with 26 points along with seven rebounds, and two assists in 40 minutes of play. He shot 7-17 from the field, 1-6 from three, and 11-13 from the freethrow line.
Right behind him was Stevenson, he closed the game out with 22 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and three steals. Another big night for him on the defensive end. It was an efficient 22 points as he shot 9-11 (81.8%).
Brandon had 11 points, five rebounds, one assist, and a steal.
Freshman forward Marko Tojagic scored nine points off the bench with three rebounds and one block.
SXU inbounded the ball to Johnson, he took it to the basket and hit the layup along with the foul call to tie the game. He made the game winning free throw with 0.3 seconds left to give the Cougars the win.
ONU did start off the game being up as much as nine points (10-19) with 12:08 remaining in the first half. But SXU created some scoring and were leading the game 36-35 at the half.
Saint Xavier came out in the second half firing, going on an 11-1 run to give themselves a 47-37 lead. ONU did a good job of coming back and making it a close game.
The Cougars shot 27-55 as a team (49.1%), but did not shoot particularly well from three point land. They shot 3-14 leaving them at 21.4%. They shot 19-28 from the foul line (67.9%).
Saint Xavier’s record moves to an overall 12-6 on the season and 7-3 in conference. They currently sit fourth in the standings in the CCAC with their four game winning streak
SXU’s next matchup will see them going on the road to take on Judson University. This game will take place on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m in Elgin, IL.