Rochester Hills, Mich. – The Saint Xavier University men's basketball team (1-1, 0-0 CCAC) earned its first win of the season in the season opening Rochester Classic hosted by Rochester University (Mich.) as the Cougars defeated Cleary University (Mich.) Saturday afternoon at Garth Pleasant Arena Friday afternoon in Rochester Hills, Mich. Senior guard Cedric Johnson (Bellevue, Neb./Sioux Falls/Nebraska-Kearney/Bellevue West) was the leading scorer for the second game in a row, as he finished with 21 points on an efficient 7-for-11 shooting and made two of his three three-point attempts. He also chipped in eight rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in 32 minutes of action.

• Junior forward Andre Brandon (Coralville, Iowa/Sauk Valley/Iowa City Liberty) recorded his second consecutive double-double after coming away with 14 points and a game-best 11 rebounds. He added a steal in 33 minutes of playing time.
• Junior guard Trey Ward (Chicago Ridge, Ill./Oak Lawn Community) tallied eight points, dished out a team-high four steals and came away with a pair of steals.
• Freshman forward James Stevenson (Sun River Terrace, Ill./Momence) provided a nice lift off the bench as he scored eight points, along with two rebounds, a block and a steal in 13 minutes.
• Cleary jumped out to a 16-6 lead in the first nine minutes of the contest. A layup by Stevenson at the 10:37 mark helped to spark a 12-2 run that tied the game at 18-18 a little over four minutes later that was capped by a basket by Johnson. The first half remained close in the final six minutes and CU would take a 27-24 lead into the locker room. Both teams were tough defensively in the opening 20 minutes as the 'Blue' Cougars shot 38.5 percent (10-for-26) and the 'Red' Cougars shot 37.0 percent (10-for-27). The difference being that CU was 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc, while SXU was 0-for-4.
• The Cougars made adjustments at halftime and shot at a 54.2 percent clip (13-for-24) in the second half and held Cleary to 36.0 percent (9-for-25) shooting from the field and limited them to 21.4 percent (3-for-14) from three-point range. Johnson was strong in the frame as he scored 17 of his 21 points in 19 minutes of action. The 'Blue' Cougars went up by six points, 32-26, after a trey with 18:28 left in regulation. Johnson responded with a three of his own off a pass from Ward on the next possession and Saint Xavier went on a 13-0 run to go ahead 39-32 at the 13:34 mark. CU retook the lead, 40-39, with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes. A basket by Johnson set up by Ward gave SXU the lead for good, 41-40, with 11:43 left in regulation. Johnson scored 10 points down the stretch while adding a pair of assists to secure the win.

Saint Xavier (1-1, 0-0 CCAC) hosts Missouri Baptist University in their home opener on Wednesday, November 8 at the Shannon Center in Chicago, Ill. The game is slated for a 7:00 pm start.