No. 10 Xavier Weathers Red Storm Comeback to Move to 14-1

Wednesday, January 6

Queens, N.Y.

9 P.M.

Xavier University

14-1, 2-1BE

St. John's University

7-9, 0-3BE

Xavier

St. John's

Photo by: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

No. 10 Xavier Weathers Red Storm Comeback to Move to 14-1

01.06.16 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Myles Davis scores season-high 19 points to lead Musketeers

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

QUEENS, N.Y. – After jumping out to an early lead, No. 10 Xavier held off a late comeback from the Red Storm take the 74-66 win at St. John's on Wednesday night. The Musketeers moved to 14-1 overall and 2-1 in BIG EAST play, and moved head coach Chris Mack's record to 148-72 at Xavier, tying Skip Prosser for second-place in XU history.

Myles Davis led three Musketeers in double figures with a season-high 19 points after scoring only three points in the first half. Trevon Bluiett added 18 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jalen Reynolds finished with 10 points to go with a team-high 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Xavier took a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game, shooting 5-of-5 from the floor to open the game, led by four early points from Remy Abell.

Xavier held the Red Storm to just 1-of-13 from the floor to open the games as the Musketeers extended the lead out to 16-4. A 6-0 run from St. John's brought the Red Storm to within six before the Musketeers responded with a 9-0 run of its own to take a 25-10 lead with under nine minutes remaining in the first half.

The Musketeers' shooting cooling off combined with five turnovers for Xavier late in the second half allowed St. John's to go on a 16-6 run, cutting the Xavier lead down to five, 31-26, in the final minutes of the first half. Bluiett hit a pair at the line just before the break to give Xavier the 33-26 lead at the half.

James Farr led the Musketeers with eight points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor. The Musketeers finished shooting 52 percent on field goals while holding St. John's to 10-of-36 from the floor. Xavier grabbed 15 defensive rebounds to 12 for St. John's, but the Red Storm owned the offensive glass with a 12-2 advantage, outrebounding the Musketeers 24-17 overall in the first half.

St. John's opened the second half by cutting the lead down to four, 33-29, the closest the Red Storm had been since trailing 6-2 in the first three minutes of the game.

A basket for J.P. Macura ended an over-five minute scoring drought from the floor for the Musketeers, starting an 8-2 run to extend the Xavier lead back out to 10, 41-31, with four minutes gone from the second half.

The Musketeers maintained a double-digit lead until a 6-0 run midway through the second half brought St. John's to within six, 47-41, with under ten minutes remaining.

A bucket and a free throw from Davis ended the SJU run, and started a 6-0 run that pushed the lead back to 12, 53-41.

Xavier held the lead to 10 points or more until a 5-0 outburst from the Red Storm cut the lead to six, 6-54, with just over five minutes remaining. Davis responded with a three pointer but the Red Storm continued to cut into the advantage, climbing to within one, 65-64, with two minutes remaining.

Six points from Davis in the final minute and a half, including 4-of-4 at the line, helped the Musketeers come away with the 74-66 win. Davis finished with 16 points in the second half.

Xavier finished shooting 48 percent from the floor while holding the Red Storm to 23 of 68 from the floor.

The Musketeers finished with a 41-38 advantage on the boards overall, owning a 33-23 advantage on defensive rebounds.

Xavier returns home for its next matchup, hosting DePaul on Tuesday Jan. 12 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers and the Blue Demons are set for a 6:30 p.m. tip on FOX Sports 1.