For the third time in four years, Indiana University South Bend claimed the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament championship by pulling off a road upset. On Saturday, it was No. 2 seed Saint Xavier University that was the victim as the Titans rallied for a 67-65 victory at the Shannon Center.
The win punches IUSB's ticket to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round March 7-8along with regular-season champion Olivet Nazarene University, who the Titans also knocked off in the tournament semifinal round on Thursday.
Saint Xavier (24-7) will have to wait until Thursday night at 7 pm when the NAIA announces the 64-team Opening Round field to see if its season continues.
In a contest where both teams struggled to break free from the other, Indiana South Bend (23-8) used one 11-0 run in the second half to turn the tide. Trailing 48-42 at the 14:55 mark, the Titans gained both a four-point play and three-point basket from Sam Snodgrass (6'4''-G) of his only points of the contest of to cap off the run and take a 53-48 lead 2:33 later at the 12:22 mark.
From there, Saint Xavier could only get as close as one point twice and two points four separate times in the closing 6:47 after IUSB had built its biggest lead at 61-54. The Cougars did have one final attempt to snatch away the win in the closing seconds, but Indiana South Bend blocked that attempt to deny SXU.
Dejon Barney (6'9''-F) and Kenny Washington (6'1''-G) tied for team-high scoring honors for Indiana South Bend with 14 points each. Barney also authored a double-double with his 10 rebounds.
Saint Xavier's scoring all came from its starting lineup topped by Jack Halverson (6'8''-F-1999)'s 24 points.
The contest featured six ties and 11 lead changes with no team leading by more than seven points. Both teams posted nearly identical numbers across the board, including shooting 52 percent from the field. Indiana South Bend did have three more treys than Saint Xavier, 8-5.

Courtesy of ccacsports.com

Player of the Year: Tyler Schmidt (6'4''-G) of ONU
Defensive Player of the Year: Troy Glover (6'9''-F/C) of Trinity Christian
Freshman of the Year: Tommy Snyder (6'6''-F) of Holy Cross Coll.
Co-Newcomer of the Year: Maurice Commander (6'0''-PG) of Roosevelt
Co-Newcomer of the Year: Cedric Johnson (6'4''-G) of St.Xavier
Coach of the Year: Nick Birkey of ONU

All-CCAC First Team 2023

Barney

King

Meredith II

Schmidt

Snyder

First Team
Dejon Barney (6'9''-F) of IU S.Bend
Jaeden King (6'6''-G) of St.Xavier
Donyell Meredith II (6'4''-G) of IU S.Bend
Tyler Schmidt (6'4''-G) of ONU
Tommy Snyder (6'6''-F) of Holy Cross Coll.

All-CCAC Second Team 2023

Anabitarte

Commander

Fayhee

Halverson

Johnson

Johnson

Second Team
Aitor Anabitarte (6'8''-F-2002) of St.Francis, IL
Maurice Commander (6'0''-PG) of Roosevelt
Carter Fayhee (6'4''-F) of St.Francis, IL
Jack Halverson (6'8''-F-1999) of St.Xavier
Cedric Johnson (6'4''-G) of St.Xavier
Jared Johnson (6'5''-F) of IU Northwest
Landon Pflederer (6'0''-PG) of ONU
Isaac Stanback (6'5''-F) of IU Northwest
Yuri Swinford (6'6''-F) of Roosevelt
Tai Walters-Whitaker (6'3''-PG) of GSU

All-CCAC Honorable Mention 2023

Cison

Davis

Glover

Ludwick

Montes

Honorable Mention
Kevin Bishop (6'6''-F) of St.Xavier
John Cison (5'11''-PG) of Trinity Christian
Floyd Davis (6'4''-G) of Calumet
Troy Glover (6'9''-F/C) of Trinity Christian
Beau Ludwick (6'2''-G) of Holy Cross Coll.
Julio Montes (5'10''-PG) of Roosevelt
Andrew Morrissey (6'9''-C-2000) of St.Ambrose
Caleb Swearingen (6'4''-G) of ONU
Kyonte Thomas (6'0''-PG) of TIU
Kenny Washington (6'1''-G) of IU S.Bend
Darius Wright (5'11''-PG) of St.Francis, IL

CCAC All-Freshman Team 2023

Glover

Mikash

Montes

Robles

Snyder

All-Freshman Team
Troy Glover (6'9''-F/C) of Trinity Christian
Nick Mikash (6'5''-SF) of GSU
Julio Montes (5'10''-PG) of Roosevelt
Phil Robles (5'9''-PG) of Holy Cross Coll.
Tommy Snyder (6'6''-F) of Holy Cross Coll.