Musketeers Erase a 22-Point Second-Half Deficit to Defeat ETSU, 68-66

Saturday, December 16

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

10-1

East Tennessee State

6-4

ETSU

Xavier

Musketeers Erase a 22-Point Second-Half Deficit to Defeat ETSU, 68-66

12.16.17 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)Photos Postgame Notes (PDF)

Bluiett, Kanter and Marshall lead Xavier in the last seconds to clinch the win

By: Isabel Hamilton, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – No. 10/9 Xavier defeated East Tennessee State, 68-66, in a thriller on Saturday afternoon at Cintas Center. A three-pointer by Kerem Kanter and a step-back jumper by Trevon Bluiett with seven seconds left clinched the win for the Musketeers as they pulled out the largest comeback ever at Cintas Center.

Xavier moved to 10-1 for the season, picking up the win in the first game of three this week.

FIRST HALF

Both teams came out a little slow, but the Musketeers owned a 9-5 advantage at the 16-minute mark, with Trevon Bluiett scoring five of the nine points.
Xavier held East Tennessee State scoreless from the 17-minute mark to the 12:15 mark.
The Buccaneers got hot from behind the arc and went on a 18-6 run to take their first lead of the half. ETSU connected on four three-pointers and held Xavier scoreless for three and a half minutes.
East Tennessee State ended the half on a 14-8 run to lead, 39-27, at the half.
Trevon Bluiett and Tyrique Jones led the Musketeers with five points each.
Xavier out-rebounded East Tennessee State, 24-18.

SECOND HALF

The Buccaneers jumped out to a 9-2 run to start the half, and extended their lead to 48-29 at the 14:47 mark.
East Tennessee State reached a 20-point lead at the 14:25 mark, but two buckets by Sean O'Mara and two three-pointers from Bluiett cut their lead to 14 by the 11:17 mark.
Xavier went on a 8-0 run to close the Buccaneers lead to 59-51, which prompted a Buccaneer time out at the 5:34 mark.
The Musketeers continued to close the gap by going on a 16-9 run with 1:30 left and from that point on the Musketeers held the Buccaneers scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Xavier ended the game on a 7-0 run off of a lay-up by Quentin Goodin, a three-pointer by Kerem Kanter at the 55-second mark, and a jumper by Trevon Bluiett with seven seconds left to capture the win.
The Musketeers were led by Trevon Bluiett and Naji Marshall in the second half. Bluiett scored 18 points, while Marshall contributed eight points in the half.
The Xavier bench outscored the East Tennessee State bench, 20-7, and held the Buccaneers to 21.4 percent from the behind the arc as compared to the Buccaneers' 57.1 percent in the first half.

NOTABLES

Xavier's win, which consisted of a 22-point comeback, was the largest comeback at the Cintas Center ever. The previous largest comeback win was against Purdue on Dec. 3, 2011 where Xavier came back from a 19-point deficit with 10 minutes to go.
Trevon Bluiett led the Musketeers with 18 points and six rebounds for the game. Bluiett scored 13 of his points in the second half when he went 5-for-12 from the field and 3-for-7 from behind the arc.
Naji Marshall had a career-high game, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds. He provided a spark off the bench for the Musketeers by scoring eight points with six minutes left in the game to help the Musketeers in their comeback.
Xavier out-rebounded East Tennessee State, 45-27, with Sean O'Mara and Kaiser Gates leading the Musketeers with seven grabs each.