SXU guard Cedric Johnson dribbling the ball SXU Athletics
The SXU’s men’s basketball team played Roosevelt University on Wed. February 7 in a CCAC matchup at the Goodman Center in Chicago, IL.
Saint Xavier could not come out with a victory and suffered a 53-70 setback.
They started on a 6-0 run two minutes into the game, but Roosevelt quickly returned to take the lead 7-6. SXU was up 23-22 with 7:09 left in the first half then Roosevelt went on a 15-0 where they were leading 37-23. The Cougars found themselves down 37-25 at the half.
It was not the best shooting for the Cougars. From the field, they shot 38% (19-50), and 16.7% (2-12) from behind the arc. They also could not hit all their free throws on the night and hit 52% (13-25). They also struggled to knock down shots from three and are looking to improve in the upcoming games.
Roosevelt played well in the second half and SXU could not recover from the deficit. They found themselves down as much as 22 points with 03:47 left in the second.
Senior guard Cedric Johnson guided SXU with 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and one block. Johnson has scored in double-figures in the 20-plus games that he has played and leads the team averaging 23.5 points per game.
Off the bench, Junior guard Sando Hill finished with a total of nine points, three assists, three rebounds, and two assists in 34 minutes.
Freshman guard Jordan Streeter scored eight points along with four rebounds, two steals, one dish pass, and one block. Senior guard Steven Ukiteyedi finished with a stat line of seven points, four rebounds, and one steal.
Junior forward Andre Brandon had six boards. He also had four points, one assist, and one block.
Senior guard Julian Barr finished the night with two steals and one assist.
To continue through the week’s events, SXU played Calumet College of St. Joseph on Saturday, Feb., 11 at Bob Hallberg Court. The Cougars suffered another tough defeat with a final score of 66-85.
Saint Xavier didn’t start the game well and CCSJ came out with a 2-13 run six minutes into the first half. SXU got some offense going for them and tied the game 15-15 with 9:41 on the clock. The first half came to an end and both teams were playing well on both sides of the floor; CCSJ entered the break up 35-38.
CCSJ quickly took off in the second half, going on a 4-17 run to take over the game. SXU was down 48-61 and CCSJ took control of the game. The Cougars fought hard, but could not make a comeback at the end.
Johnson recorded his sixth double-double of the season by putting up 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and a steal. He played 37 minutes and shot 5–14 (35.7%), and 8-10 (80%) from the foul line.
Freshman forward James Stevenson had an efficient game as he capped off the night with 14 points, and one assist, a steal, a block, and a rebound. Stevenson was sharp from the floor, he was at 88% on 7-8 shooting.
Ukiteyedi provided bench scoring for Saint Xavier as he rounded off the game with 14 points, two rebounds, and one steal. He was a perfect 3-3 from the three-point line. Streeter provided 10 points, in addition to five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
The Cougars shot the ball well, shooting 54.8% (23-42) on the night. From downtown, SXU shot 66.7% (6-9), and from the charity stripe they shot 63.6% (14-22).
This was the second time that they had lost with shooting splits higher than 50% or better. SXU is 8-2 when they make more than half of their shooting attempts.
Robert Ford and company are currently on a three-game losing streak as they are coming towards the last four games of the season. They are 9-7 in the conference, and 14-10 as an overall record and sit in fifth place with two wins behind fourth. SXU hopes to end the season strongly.
Saint Xavier will encounter Indiana University South Bend at Bob Hallberg Court at the Shannon Center. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm.