Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
14-7, 5-4
Georgetown
14-6, 6-3
Xavier Completes Sweep of No. 21 Georgetown, 66-53
01.27.15 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Xavier men's basketball team earned its first BIG EAST road win of the season on Tuesday night, knocking off No. 21 Georgetown, 66-53. The Musketeers (14-7, 5-4 BIG EAST) held the Hoyas (14-6, 6-3 BIG EAST) to a season-low 16 first-half points on just four made field goals to take control of the game.
Myles Davis led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Matt Stainbrook added 12 for the Musketeers. Remy Abell and Trevon Bluiett each finished with 11 points. Abell also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds as the Musketeers outworked the Hoyas on the board, 36-28.
The Musketeers took a 9-6 lead into the under-12 media timeout, matching Georgetown on 2-7 shooting from the floor, but converting 5-of-6 from the free throw line to take the lead. XU held on to the lead, extending it to as many as five, 11-6, in the first 10 minutes of the game, with help from six early Georgetown turnovers.
Georgetown then went scoreless from the field for over 11 minutes, while the Musketeers shot 40 percent from the field, led by 13 points from Myles Davis. Davis made 5-of-7 from the floor and shot 75 percent from behind the three-point line during the stretch.
Xavier extended its lead to as many as 17, 29-12, with 2:10 left before halftime. The Hoyas closed the half on a 4-0 run, making a basket as time expired to mark Georgetown's first make since the 11:17 mark, sending the teams into the locker room with Xavier leading 29-16.
The defensive struggles that have plagued the Musketeers on the road during conference play were non-existent in the first half as Xavier held the Hoyas to just four field goals.
Abell grabbed a team-high five rebounds as the Musketeers out-rebounded the Hoyas, 19-15, and held Georgetown without an offensive rebound in the first half.
In the second half, the Georgetown offense heated up, hitting six of its first eight shots, but the Musketeers shot 50 percent from the floor through the first nine minutes of the half to maintain a double-digit lead.
The Hoyas got as close as 10, 40-30, but two three-pointers from Bluiett fueled an 8-0 run give Xavier its biggest lead of the game at 18, 48-30, with 10:25 remaining.
With 4:30 left, Georgetown's Josh Smith hit a free throw to cut the lead to nine - the first time the Xavier lead was cut to single digits since leading 17-8 at the 7:28 mark in the first half. The Hoyas would get as close as 54-47 with just under four minutes remaining, but the Musketeers would respond by holding Georgetown scoreless for the next three minutes.
While clamping down on defense, the Musketeers steadily rebuilt the lead. With 1:28 left, Stainbrook hit a layup off a sneaky inbounds play to take 11-point lead, 58-47, into final minute.
The Hoyas scored seven in the final minute but the Musketeers went 6-for-6 from the line in the final minute to take the 66-53 win.
After just four made field goals in the first half, the Hoyas finished shooting 39.5 percent from the floor for the game. The Musketeers finished shooting 40.5 percent on field goals and converted on 19-of-21 free throws line in the second half to secure the win.
Xavier stays on the road for its next matchup, traveling to South Orange, N.J. to face Seton Hall on Saturday, Jan. 31 at noon. The game will be televised on FOX Sports 1 and a radio broadcast will be available from 700 WLW. More information will be available from GoXavier.com.
