Men's Basketball Falls to Wisconsin Following Late Comeback

Tuesday, November 13

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

2-1

Wisconsin

2-0

Wisconsin

Xavier

Men's Basketball Falls to Wisconsin Following Late Comeback

11.13.18 | Men's Basketball

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

Sophomore Naji Marshall posts career-highs in scoring and rebounding in Xavier's first ever Gavitt Tipoff Games loss

By: Brandon Eckman, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier men's basketball fell to Wisconsin, 77-68, on Tuesday night in its first loss of the season. Three Musketeers scored double figures, led by sophomore Naji Marshall, who scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.

FIRST HALF

Xavier opened the game shooting 4-of-10 from the field, scoring six of its first nine points in the paint. The Musketeers shot 33 percent from beyond the arc in the first seven minutes of play.
Xavier and Wisconsin shared a 33 percent field goal percentage after nine minutes of play.
The Musketeers shot 12-for-31, 39 percent from the field and scored 16 points in the paint in the first half.
Sophomore Naji Marshall scored a team high nine points in the half, shooting 50 percent from the field in 19 minutes of action.
Marshall tied his season high for rebounds, pulling down eight in the first half.
Ryan Welage and Quentin Goodin both added five points for Xavier in the half and combined for two three-point makes.
Scores by Zach Hankins and Marshall on back-back possessions cut the Wisconsin lead to five points with 2:00 left to play in the half.
Hankins blocked a mid-range shot by the Badgers for his second rejection of the game with 16 seconds left in the half, giving the Musketeers possession to end the half.
Marshall gave the Musketeers momentum going into halftime with a dribble-drive layup as time expired, cutting the Badger lead to two points.
Xavier closed out the half trailing Wisconsin 30-28, cutting down an 11-point deficit.

SECOND HALF

Xavier opened the half shooting 7-of-14 from the field, 40 percent, in the first 10:00 of play.
Xavier finished the half successful on 15-of-28 shooting from the field, 53.6 percent.
Xavier scored 40 of its 68 points in the half, including 24 in the paint and 11 from the bench.
Marshall scored 15 points in the half and grabbed five more rebounds for the Musketeers.
Hankins finished the game with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Goodin finished the game with 13 points on the night and played 37 minutes in the game for Xavier.
Welage ended the game with seven points in 29 minutes.
Xavier cut the Badger lead to six points with 27 seconds left in the contest after trailing Wisconsin by as many as 18 points, before falling by a final score of 77-68.

NOTABLES

Xavier scored 40 of their 68 points in the paint and capitalized on 14 second-chance points.
Xavier finished the contest with a field goal percentage of 46 percent, shooting 27-for-59 from the field, with five made three-pointers.
Marshall scored a career high 24 points, shooting 67 percent from the field. Marshall grabbed a career high 13 rebounds in the contest, including one of Xavier's seven total offensive rebounds, for his first career double-double.
Zach Hankins finished with a double-double as well, scoring 11 points and 10 rebounds, as well as four blocks.
Xavier is now 2-2 vs. Wisconsin since the 2007-08 season.
The loss is Xavier's first in the Gavitt Games, which began during the 2015-16 season.
The loss snapped a 41-game non-conference home winning streak, dating back to 2012.

UP NEXT

Xavier returns to action in Maui, Hawaii on Monday, Nov. 19 at 2:30 p.m. ET to face top-10 Auburn in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Musketeers and Tigers will be televised on ESPN 2.

VIDEO: HANKINS & MARSHALL