Broncos Drop First Game of USF Thanksgiving Classic to Cougars

(Joliet, IL) – The men's basketball team competed against the Saint Xavier (IL) Cougars as part of the USF Thanksgiving Classic. The Broncos dropped the game 93-77 to the Cougars on Saturday, as Saint Xavier shot 50 percent from the field and used a 16-0 run in the second half to help secure the game.

Saint Xavier got two layups to open the game, but Hastings responded with a 12-2 run. Freshman Maverick Binder, who had a team-high nine first half points, drained a three, then after a couple of missed shots and offensive rebounds, sophomore Hunter Hill got his putback to go. Hill blocked a shot on the other end then again rebounded a Bronco miss and put it back in. Junior DaRon Hall continued the run with a three-pointer, then after a Cougar layup, Hall, who had four first half assists, found Hill for a layup to go up 12-6 near the 14-minute mark.

Following a timeout, Saint Xavier went on an 8-0 run. Junior Myles Simon put a stop to the scoring run with a basket, though the Cougars were able to eventually stretch the lead out to 23-18. Hall's jumper and Binder's three tied the game up at 23-apiece with 8:11 left in the half, but the rest of the half would belong to the Cougars. They would score the next seven points and take a 44-33 lead going into halftime.

The second half started promisingly for the Broncos with baskets from Hall and Hill to trim the lead to seven, then after a Cougar layup, Hall knocked down a three to make it 46-40. From there, Saint Xavier scored 16 unanswered points over the next four minutes to go up 62-40 with 12:49 left.

Binder tried to dig into the lead, knocking down a pair of triples, but the Cougars kept answering back with more offense. Sophomore Quinn Johnson also had a couple of good plays in the second half, forcing a steal, then knocking down a jumper, shortly followed by a three-pointer with 7:08 left at 74-53.

Down 83-64 with 3:24 remaining, Hastings made a quick 6-0 run to cut the lead to 13. Boudreau made a jumper, then junior Christian Pujals made a layup off a steal and assist from freshman Eli Podoll. Pujals forced another Cougar turnover and turned that into a basket. After a timeout from Saint Xavier with 2:30 left. 

The Cougars made a couple of three throws, then Pujals concluded his seven-point scoring run with a three-pointer to get within 12. That would be as close as the Broncos would get, as the Cougars closed out the game to win 93-77.

Binder led the Broncos in scoring with 17 points on five threes, along with four rebounds. Hall finished with 15 points and a team-high six assists. Sophomore David Hageman led the team in rebounding with six boards, along with seven points. Hill, along with Boudreau and Johnson off the bench, had eight points each.

The Broncos will return to the court tomorrow – Sunday, Dec. 1 – against host Saint Francis (IL) at 1pm as part of the USF Thanksgiving Classic.