CHICAGO – For the third consecutive game and the fourth time in the last five contests, the Saint Xavier University men's basketball team (5-5, 2-2 CCAC) shot better than 50.0 percent from the field and they shot at a season-best 56.9 percent clip (28-for-51) in a 77-68 victory over Indiana University Northwest in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) contest Saturday afternoon on Bob Hallberg Court at the Shannon Center in Chicago, Ill. Senior guard Cedric Johnson (Bellevue, Neb./Sioux Falls/Nebraska-Kearney/Bellevue West) paced the Cougar offense by making 11 of his 14 shot attempts as he scored a game-high 27 points and was 9-for-10 inside the three-point line. Johnson added seven rebounds and a pair of assists in the win.

• Junior guard Sando Hill (Vanoss, Okla./Lyon/Seminole State/Vanoss) was tough on both ends of the court, scoring 18 points (seven in the final two minutes) and dishing out a season-best six assists. He tied his season-high with five steals and now had a team-leading 30 takeaways on the year.
• Junior forward Andre Brandon (Coralville, Iowa/Sauk Valley/Liberty) finished in double-figures for the third straight game, tallying 11 points along with a season-best four steals and grabbing three rebounds in 28 minutes of playing time.
• Senior guard Steven Ukiteyedi (Gaitherburg, Md./Allegheny/UMBC/Quince Orchard) collected seven points, six rebounds and an assist in 19 minutes of action off the bench.
• Freshman guard Jordan Streeter (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) added six points, three rebounds and a block.
• The SXU defense forced 17 turnovers and came away with 14 steals. It was the third consecutive game that they had 10 or more steals and it's the sixth time in their last eight games that they have done so.
• Johnson scored two quick baskets to start the game before IUN called a timeout just over a minute and a half into the contest. The RedHawks responded with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 10-6 lead at the 15:33 mark. Johnson drove the lane for two points on the next possession, sparking a 12-0 run for Saint Xavier, capped by a three-pointer by Johnson to build a 20-10 advantage and causing Indiana Northwest to use another time out with 11:56 to go in the half.
• Hill gave the Cougars their largest lead of the half, 39-21, after he hit a three with 3:36 remaining off a pass from junior guard Trey Ward (Chicago Ridge, Ill./Oak Lawn Community). Ward finished with three assists, two points and two steals. SXU went into the locker room leading 41-25 and shot at a blistering 65.4 percent clip (17-for-26) from the field, while limiting IUN to 25.8 percent shooting (8-for-31).
• Brandon started the second half with three steals on four possessions and Saint Xavier pushed its lead to 48-27 after Streeter split a pair of foul shots with 17:45 remaining. The RedHawks chipped away and pulled within 10 points, 54-44, over the next six minutes with a layup at the 11:43 mark. The Cougars held on to their lead down the stretch despite Indiana Northwest shooting 69.2 percent (18-for-26) from the floor in the second half. Hill scored 12 of his 18 points in the frame, along with four steals and Johnson collected 14 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.

Saint Xavier (6-5, 3-2 CCAC) travels to St. Louis, Mo. to take on Missouri Baptist University on Tuesday, December 19 in non-conference action. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 pm start.