No. 9/8 Xavier Picks Up Road Win at Northern Iowa, 77-67

Friday, December 22

Cedar Falls, Iowa

9 p.m.

Xavier University

12-1

Northern Iowa

8-4

Xavier

UNI

No. 9/8 Xavier Picks Up Road Win at Northern Iowa, 77-67

12.22.17 | Men's Basketball

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Macura leads Musketeers with 15 points as Xavier hold off Panthers

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – No. 9/8 Xavier pulled away late to pick up the 77-67 road win over Northern Iowa. UNI trailed by just one possession late but the Musketeers secured the game at the free throw line to secure the win. Four Musketeers hit double figures, led by 15 for J.P. Macura.

Xavier moved to 12-1 overall and 2-0 in true road games. UNI fell to 8-4 on the season.

FIRST HALF

UNI controlled the game early, leading over nine of the first 13 minutes. Xavier's only lead in that stretch to open the game came at 8-7 just over five minutes into the game.
The Panthers built the lead out to 10, 22-12, with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half. The Musketeers responded with a 10-0 run to tie the game, and continued the outburst into a 17-2 run over the next eight minutes to lead 29-24 with under two minute to play before the half. The run featured eight points from Trevon Bluiett.
UNI closed the first half with a 5-0 outburst to go into the break tied, 29-29.
Bluiett's eight points led the Musketeers, going 2-of-2 from the floor, with both shots coming from behind the arc.
J.P. Macura added seven and Kerem Kanter scored five in the first half.
Xavier held a 17-12 advantage on the boards, led by four for Kaiser Gates.
UNI's early lead was fueled by 13 first half turnovers by the Musketeers, which turned into 15 points for the Panthers, compared to just four points off turnovers for the Musketeers.

SECOND HALF

AIn the first six minutes of the second half an 11-2 Xavier run, fueled by a pair of threes by Kaiser Gates, gave the Musketeers a 10-point lead, 43-33.
UNI answered with a 13-3 run of its own to tie the game at 46-46 with 10 minutes to play.
Five points from Kanter helped the Musketeers outscore the Panthers 11-2 over the next 4:32 to take a nine-point lead, 57-48, with 5:30 to play.
UNI would climb to within three with less than three minutes to play, but a pair of free throws and a Macura dunk off a Quentin Goodin steal pushed the lead back to seven, 64-57, with 1:35 to play.
The Musketeers would connect on 10-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes to help secure the 10-point win, 77-67.
J.P. Macura and Kaiser Gates each scored eight in the second half to lead the Musketeers.
Xavier held a slight edge on the boards in the second half, 17-16, with Bluiett, Gates and Kanter each grabbing five.
After committing 13 turnovers in the first half, Xavier committed just two after the break.

NOTABLES

Four Musketeers hit double figures, led by 15 points for Macura. Trevon Bluiett added 12 points.
Gates added 11 and Kanter finished with 10, going 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
Goodin dished out five assists and eight points, going 6-of-6 from the free throw line, with all six attempts for the game coming in the final minutes as the Musketeers worked to secure the game.
Xavier owned a 34-28 advantage on the boards, led by nine for Gates. Kanter and Bluiett each grabbed seven.
The Musketeers shot 52 percent from the floor, including 12-of-23 on threes, while holding UNI to 40.4 percent from the floor.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers open conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at Marquette. Xavier faces the Golden Eagles at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Xavier returns home on Saturday, Dec. 30 to host DePaul in the BIG EAST home opener. The Musketeers and the Blue Demons play at 2:00 p.m. on FS1.