Second Half Surge for Sun Devils Hands No. 15/14 Xavier First Setback of the Season

Friday, November 24

Las Vegas, Nev.

5:30 p.m. ET

Xavier University

5-1

102

Arizona State

6-0

ARIZONA ST

102

XAVIER

Second Half Surge for Sun Devils Hands No. 15/14 Xavier First Setback of the Season

11.24.17 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Season Stats (PDF)Box Score (PDF)

Musketeers fall in Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational championship game

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

LAS VEGAS – No. 15/14 Xavier moved to 5-1 on the season after a second-half surge by Arizona State (6-0) powered the Sun Devils past the Musketeers,102-86, in the championship game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.

Xavier took a 15-point lead in the first half, but ASU pulled to within two by the break and continued its run through out the second half, steadily building the lead to hand the Musketeers their first holiday tournament loss since the 2014-15 season. J.P. Macura led three Musketeers in double figures.

FIRST HALF

Xavier took the lead to open the game, leading by as many as five in a back-and-forth battle in the opening minutes.
Xavier owned a 12-2 advantage on points in the paint early, but the Sun Devils used three three-pointers in the first 10 minutes to keep the Musketeers within two possessions in the opening minutes of the game.
ASU took its largest lead of the half at two, 20-18, with 11 minutes remaining after putting together a 6-0 run. The Musketeers countered with a 15-3 burst to retake the lead, pushing the advantage out to 10, 33-23, with just under seven minutes before the break.
Xavier connected on five-straight field goal attempts, leading by as many as 15 before Arizona State put together a 15-2 run to close out the half, going into the break with the Musketeers ahead two, 46-44.
J.P. Macura led all scorers with 13 points in the first half.
Kerem Kanter added 10 on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Kaiser Gates score nine in the first half, connecting on 3-of-4 from outside.
Xavier outscored ASU 28-14 in the paint in the first half, but the Sun Devils connected on 40 percent of their outside shots, including a pair in the final 1:07 of the half, to keep pace with the Musketeers.
The Musketeers assisted on 11 of 18 made field goals in the first half, with four each for Trevon Bluiett and Quentin Goodin.
Xavier owned a 19-13 advantage on the boards, led by five for Macura.

SECOND HALF

ASU continued its run to open the second half, extending the run to 19-2, retaking the lead in the first minute of the half.
The Musketeers committed four early turnovers in the half with Quentin Goodin limited in the early going after picking up a fourth foul less than four minutes into the half. Those miscues turned into six points for the Sun Devils in the first 10 minutes of the half.
The Sun Devils hit 3-of-5 from outside early in the half to lead by as many as eight, 67-59, in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
After ASU took an eight-point lead, five-straight points for J.P. Macura made it a one-possession game, 67-64. The Sun Devils outscored Xavier, 31-11, over the next nine minutes to take its largest lead of the game at 23, 98-75, with less than three minutes to play before winning by a final score of 102-86.
Macura had 10 second half points. Trevon Bluiett added nine after the break.
Xavier shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the second half, including 4-of-8 from three, but the Sun Devils connected on 64.3 percent from the floor, including 7-of-12 from outside, to pull away from the Musketeers.
ASU outrebounded the Musketeers 16-7 in the second half.

NOTABLES

J.P. Macura led the Musketeers with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Kerem Kanter finished with 12 points, going 6-of-6 on field goals.
Trevon Bluiett was the third Musketeer in double figures, finishing with 11 points, the first time this season he's been limited to less than 20 points.
Bluiett also dished out six assists, matching Quentin Goodin for team-high.
Both teams shot just under 60 percent from the floor for the game, but the Sun Devils owned an advantage on points off turnovers, 22-13, and second chance points, 11-8.
ASU's Tra Holder led all scorers with 40 points.
Xavier was outrebounded for the first time this season, 29-26. The Musketeers were led on the boards with five each for Macura and Naji Marshall.