CHICAGO – Behind 53 first-half points, the Saint Xavier University men's basketball team pulled away early for a 90-64 victory over Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) rival University of St. Francis (Ill.) Wednesday night at the Shannon Center in Chicago.  Sophomore guard Brad Karp (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) had another sensational outing for the Cougars finishing with 23 points and six rebounds.  With the win, SXU improves to 17-6 overall and 3-1 in the conference standings.  The outcome was never in doubt as Saint Xavier was dominate from the onset jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes and never trailing en route to the 26-point victory.

Sophomore forward Mark Peters (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) also had a nice game for the Cougars recording 15 points and four rebounds.  In addition, junior point guard Anthony Grant (South Holland, Ill./Prairie State CC/Thornridge) and freshman guard Jack Krieger (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) each scored 10 points off the bench for SXU.  Junior point guard Roosevelt Green (Markham, Ill./Tinley Park) posted eight points and a game-best eight assists.  The Fighting Saints were led by freshman guard Chris Miller with 16 points.  As a team, Saint Xavier shot an impressive 57 percent (38-for-67) from the field, including a 59 percent clip (10-for-17) from three-point range.  The Cougars also recorded a season-high 31 assists in Wednesday's victory. 

Saint Xavier (17-6 overall/3-1 CCAC) takes on No. 2 ranked Robert Morris University (Ill.) in conference action on Saturday, February 4.  Originally scheduled as a road game for the Cougars, the game will now be played at the Shannon Center starting at 3 p.m. due to scheduling conflicts with RMU's home arena.