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Quinn Niego, of St. Xavier, brings the ball up court against Purdue-Calumet at Saint Xavier. Wednesday, February 25th, 2015, in Chicago. (Gary Middendorf/ For the Daily Southtown)
Gary Middendorf, Daily Southtown
Quinn Niego, of St. Xavier, brings the ball up court against Purdue-Calumet at Saint Xavier. Wednesday, February 25th, 2015, in Chicago. (Gary Middendorf/ For the Daily Southtown)
Steve Millar
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Quinn Niego’s freshman year at St. Xavier proved to be quite an adventure.

After finishing his high school career at Brother Rice, Niego chose to play his college ball right down the street. Cougars coach Tom O’Malley wasted no time making Niego his starting point guard.

Niego started 21 of St. Xavier’s 31 games this season, averaging 6.4 points. He ranked third on the team in assists with 52.

“We’ve had our ups and downs as a team and I’ve had them individually,” Niego said. “Overall, though, it’s been great to get all this experience as a freshman. I’ve loved getting the playing time I’ve gotten and getting to play with so many great players.”

Niego is a pass-first point guard, but is capable of piling up points, something he’ll likely be counted on to do more often in the years to come — especially with Jack Krieger, who averages 22.4 points, finishing his collegiate career.

“I feel like when I’m able to do some scoring, it definitely helps,” Niego said. “I just try to do whatever I can to help my team win. I try to get everyone involved, but if I get chances to score, I’ll do it.”

Two of Niego’s best performances came in the Cougars’ final two games. He scored 15 points in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal win over Purdue Calumet and produced 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a season-ending semifinal loss to Olivet Nazarene.

O’Malley is excited about Niego’s future.

“Quinn has really been a solid point guard for us, especially for a freshman,” O’Malley said. “He’s a guy who’s going to keep getting better and should help us out a lot. We expect big things from him.”

Waiting game

St. Francis was one win away from sealing its postseason fate.

With Olivet Nazarene – which had already clinched one of the CCAC’s two automatic bids to the NAIA Division II National Tournament – having advanced to the league’s tournament championship, the Saints needed just a semifinal win over Cardinal Stritch to clinch the second automatic bid.

However, St. Francis could not contain CCAC Player of the Year Tony Smit, who finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead Stritch to an 83-68 semifinal win.

Now, the Saints are forced to wait and see if they’ll receive an at-large bid to the national tournament, which begins March 11 in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 32-team field will be announced Wednesday.

“We definitely feel like we’ve built enough of a resume to be strongly considered for an at-large,” St. Francis coach Ryan Marks said. “We certainly hope to get a chance to play in the tournament and try to make a run.”

The Saints (23-9) are ranked No. 21 in NAIA Division II and have wins over two ranked teams in Olivet and Stritch.

Honor roll

Marks was named the CCAC Coach of the Year following the conclusion of the conference tournament Saturday night.

St. Xavier’s Krieger and St. Francis’ Ilya Ilyayev were both named fiirst team all-conference.

Krieger led the conference in scoring and finished his career seventh on St. Xavier’s all-time scoring list. Ilyayev led St. Francis in scoring at 17.4 points and in rebounding with seven.

St. Xavier’s Stanley Moore, St. Francis’ Jens Kennedy and Trinity Christian’s Cody Rhorer were named honorable mention all-conference.

Steve Millar is a freelance writer.