No. 6 Xavier Outlasts St. John's for Win No. 20

Tuesday, January 30

Queens, N.Y.

8:30 p.m.

Xavier University

20-3 (8-2)

St. John's

10-13 (0-11)

Xavier

St. John's

Quentin Goodin against George Washington in Las Vegas

No. 6 Xavier Outlasts St. John's for Win No. 20

01.30.18 | Men's Basketball

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

Trevon Bluiett led four Musketeers in double figures

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

QUEENS, N.Y. - No. 6/6 Xavier held off St. John's in New York on Tuesday night to pick up its 20th win of the season. Neither team led by more than seven in a game that was tied in the final two minutes.

Trevon Bluiett led four Musketeers in double figures as Xavier moved to 20-3 overall and 8-2 in BIG EAST play. The Red Storm dropped to 10-13 overall and remain winless in conference play.

FRIST HALF

After opening the game with a Quentin Goodin three pointer, SJU outscored Xavier 10-2 over the next three minutes to jump out to a lead early.
The Red Storm led by as many as six in the first 10 minute, but Xavier used an 8-0 run to erase the lead, taking a 19-17 lead into the final 10 minutes of the half.
Xavier hit five of 10 outside shots in the first 10 minutes of the game, with five Musketeers hitting a three in the early going.
After falling behind by six 14-8, the Musketeers outscored the Red Storm 18-6 over the next eight minutes to take a six-point lead, 26-20.
The six-point lead was Xavier's largest of the first half. SJU would get as close as two in the final five minutes before going into the break ahead five, 37-32.
Goodin led the Musketeers with seven points. The Musketeers went into the half shooting 48 percent from the floor and 40 percent from behind the arc, compared to 34 percent overall and 33.3 percent on threes for St. John's.
Xavier owned a 19-18 lead on the boards, led by three each for Trevon Bluiett, Kaiser Gates and Naji Marshall.

SECOND HALF

A basket in the opening minute of the second half pushed the Xavier lead out to seven, but SJU outscored the Musketeers 13-4 over the next four minutes to retake the lead, 45-43, with 15 minutes remaining.
The Red Storm led by as many as four, 51-47, with under 14 minutes to play.
The Musketeers closed the gap to two, 53-51, with 11 minutes to play but both teams went scoreless from the floor over the next three minutes before St. John's pushed back out to a four-point lead.
Kaiser Gates broke the drought for the Musketeers with a three pointer and a pair of free throws from Kerem Kanter put Xavier back in front, 56-55 with seven minutes to play.
The Musketeers' run extended to 10-1 to push the Musketeers out to a five-point lead, 61-56.
Xavier maintained the lead until the two-minute mark when St. John's tied the game, 67-67, on a three pointer.
A pair of Trevon Bluiett free throws gave Xavier the two point edge going in the final minute. SJU cut it down to one before a Kerem Kanter layup gave Xavier a three-point lead, 71-68, with 18 seconds left.
The Red Storm turned the ball over with 11 seconds to play and Trevon Bluiett hit a pair of free throws to set the final margin at 73-68.
Bluiett led the Musketeers with nine points in the second half. The Musketeers shot 44 percent from the floor in the second half to 56 percent for the Red Storm.
J.P. Macura and Gates each grabbed three boards as Xavier out-rebounded St. John's, 17-13.

NOTABLES

Four Musketeers scored in double figures, led by 14 for Trevon Bluiett.
Bluiett, now with a career total of 2,014 points at Xavier, moved into third place on Xavier's all-time scoring list. The senior guard moved past Tyrone Hill (2,003) and Romain Sato (2,005) this evening. David West stands ahead of Bluiett in second place with 2,132 points. Byron Larkin stands atop the list with 2,696 points.
Quentin Goodin finished with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Kerem Kanter also finished with 13.
J.P. Macura finished with 11 points.
Xavier out-rebounded St. John's, 36-31, led by six for Kaiser Gates.
The win was Xavier's 20^th of the season, marking the 12^th 20-win season in the past 13 year, and the 20^th in the past 22 years.

UP NEXT

Xavier returns home to host Georgetown on Saturday, February 3 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers and the Hoyas face off at 6:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.