No. 9/8 Xavier Holds off Late Surge by Marshall to Take 81-77 Win

Tuesday, December 19

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

11-1

Marshall

8-4

Marshall

Xavier

No. 9/8 Xavier Holds off Late Surge by Marshall to Take 81-77 Win

12.19.17 | Men's Basketball

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

Kanter and Jones post first double-doubles of the season

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – No. 9/8 Xavier held off a late run from a high-scoring Marshall team to hold on to beat the Thundering Herd, 81-77, at Cintas Center. Five Musketeers hit double-figures, including double-doubles for Kerem Kanter and Tyrique Jones, to hold off MU as the Thundering Herd erased most of a 23-point Xavier lead in the second half.

Xavier moved to 11-1 on the season and Marshall dropped to 8-4 on the season.

FIRST HALF

Xavier took control of the game early, breaking open a 5-5 tie with a 13-0 run.
Sean O'Mara scored 10 of the Musketeers' first 22 points as Xavier built its lead out to double digits, leading by as many in 18, 30-22, in the first 10 minutes of the game half.
The Thundering Herd would get as close as 12 before the Musketeers re-extended the lead, hitting a 20-point advantage in the closing second of the half to take its largest lead of the first half in to the break, up 47-27.
Xavier led for over 17 minutes in the first half.
O'Mara finished the first half with a game-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line.
Tyrique Jones added 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first 20 minutes. Trevon Bluiett also scored 10 in the first half.
Xavier shot 57 percent from the floor in the first half, while holding Marshall to 30 percent on field goals, including 3-of-18 from outside.
Xavier's bigs owned a sizable advantage in the first half, with XU outscoring MU 24-12 on points in the paint.
The Musketeers dominated the glass as well, holding a 21-11 advantage on the boards in the first half, led by 10 for Kerem Kanter.

SECOND HALF

A Kanter three to open the second half pushed the Xavier lead out to 23, the largest lead of the game, before Marshall ripped off a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to pull within 13, 50-27, less than three minutes into the second half.
Xavier responded with a 6-0 run of its own, maintaining a double-digit lead until the 8:05 mark when Marshall pulled within nine, 62-53.
The Musketeers outscored the Thundering Herd, 8-3, over the next four minutes to retake a double-digit lead, holding on to a three-possession advantage until the final 1:30 of the game.
With 1:29 remaining, MU's C.J. Burks hit a three, completing a personal 5-0 run, to cut the Xavier lead to seven, 72-65, the closest the game had been since the opening four minutes of the first half.
The Musketeers went 7-of-8 at the line in the final minute of the game to counter three MU threes in the final 30 seconds to hold on to win, 81-77.
Kanter scored a team-high 14 points in the second half, including going 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
Jones grabbed seven boards to lead the Musketeers as they out-rebounded the Herd, 21-18, in the second half.

NOTABLES

Five Musketeers hit double figures, led by Kerem Kanter's 16 points. Kanter also led the Musketeers with 13 rebounds for his first double-double as a Musketeer. Kanter's 13 boards are his highest total as a Musketeer.
Tyrique Jones finished with 14 points and 11 boards for his first double-double of the season. Jones' 11 board match his career high.
Quentin Goodin and Sean O'Mara each finished with 14 points as well.
Trevon Bluiett was the fifth Musketeer to hit double-figures with 10.
Naji Marshall and Kanter both made the first start of their Xavier careers.
N. Marshall matched his career-high on assists in the first half with four.
The Thundering Herd's 27 first-half points is the lowest point total for a half for MU this season.

UP NEXT

Xavier closes out the non-conference schedule at Northern Iowa on Friday, December 22. The Musketeers and the Panthers face off at 9:00 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
The Musketeers open conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at Marquette. Xavier faces the Golden Eagles at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.