Men’s College Basketball: St. Xavier knocks off St. Francis
By Logan Malloy For Sun-Times Media December 5, 2012 10:36PM
Updated: January 7, 2013 1:34PM
St. Xavier’s offense continues to torch the nets.
Averaging nearly 87 points per game as one of the top-scoring teams in NAIA, St. Xavier put four scorers in double digits Wednesday night en route to a 93-68 victory over University of St. Francis at the Shannon Center on Wednesday in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tilt.
Brad Karp led the Cougars (6-3, 6-2) with 22 points, while Jack Krieger added 21 on an efficient 8-of-11 night from the field.
“I came out trying to shoot the three (-pointer),” said Krieger, who had a game-high 11 rebounds. “They were overplaying me, so I had to change my game. I had to do a few backdoor cuts and expand my game.”
Mark Peters led St. Francis (6-4, 5-3) with 20 points and single-handedly kept the Saints alive early by going 6-of-6 from the field for 16 first-half points. The loss ends a four-game win streak for St. Francis.
Krieger scored on several nifty drives off the bounce and also connected on a textbook backdoor cut off a feed from Roosevelt Green for a 77-56 advantage.
Green, the CCAC assists leader, played maestro to the up-tempo attack, dishing out 10 assists as the calm senior floor general.
“ ‘Rosy’ is a great role model and facilitator,” Krieger said. “He can find you in the craziest positions and you have to finish, otherwise you’re not getting the ball again. He tells us that.”
Up 52-36 at halftime, St. Xavier blew the game open with a 19-8 run after intermission. Krieger scored five points in a five-second span, burying a three followed by a layup after a Karp steal and assist.
“We can’t slow down,” Krieger said. “We have to keep pushing and go up in the rankings if we want a chance at nationals.”
Anthony Grant added 19 points and Josh Mawhorr put in 18 for the Cougars.
