ST. LOUIS – Redshirt junior guard
Maurice Thomas (Chicago, Ill./Trinidad State/Wisconsin-Milwaukee/DePaul College Prep) scored a team-high 23 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field, as well as going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, and adding two assists to help lead the Saint Xavier University men's basketball team (1-1/0-0 CCAC) to a 73-62 victory over University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy (Mo.) Saturday afternoon in St. Louis, Mo. The Cougars held a 36-24 rebound advantage, and they were efficient from the foul line shooting 80.8 percent (21-for-26).
- Senior forward Marko Tojagic (Belgrade, Serbia/Saint Andrews) came away with his first career double-double, tying his career-high in points with 14, and pulling down a career-best 11 rebounds. He was 5-for-10 from the field, 4-for-5 from the charity stripe, and he had a steal.
- Redshirt junior forward Vlad Karasev (Moscow, Russia/Jamestown/Collin/Spring Creek Academy) recorded his second straight double-double to open the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also had two steals and an assist in 24 minutes of play.
- Junior guard Don Ferguson (St. Cloud, Minn./Augustana (S.D.)/St. Cloud Tech) tallied seven points, three assists and a rebound.
- Redshirt junior guard Miles Gillespie (Crete, Ill./Joliet JC/Crete-Monee) registered six points, four rebounds and a steal.
- Redshirt junior guard Anthony Vaval (Chicago, Ill./Prairie State/Brooks) netted five points with three assists and three rebounds.
- Redshirt junior guard Khaled Khaled (Burbank, Ill./Triton/Illinois-Chicago/Reavis) made his Saint Xavier debut, scoring three points and hauling in a pair of rebounds
- Redshirt sophomore guard Landon Rivers (Chicago, Ill./Arizona Compass Prep) totaled two points and a rebound in his season debut.
- The Cougars trailed early in the contest before a three-pointer by Karasev tied the game at 11-11 with 12:46 left in the opening half. That basket turned a three-point deficit into a 37-24 lead at halftime as SXU out-paced the Eutectics 26-13 during the final 10 minutes of the period.
- Saint Xavier built its largest lead of the game, 66-42, when Gillespie made a layup with 6:46 left in regulation. The Cougars maintained their double-digit lead the rest of the way to earn the road win.
Saint Xavier (1-1/0-0 CCAC) plays their home opener on Saturday, November 7 vs. Clarke University (Iowa) at the Shannon Center. The game is set for a 5:00 pm start in Chicago, Ill.
