Naji Marshall Leads Musketeers to BIG EAST-Opening Win at DePaul

Saturday, December 29

Chicago, Ill.

2 p.m.

Xavier University

9-5

DePaul

8-4

Xavier

DePaul

Naji Marshall Leads Musketeers to BIG EAST-Opening Win at DePaul

12.29.18 | Men's Basketball

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

Musketeers erase late deficit to pick up road win

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CHICAGO – A late run erased a second-half deficit for the Musketeers, as Xavier opened BIG EAST play with 74-65 win at DePaul. Xavier trailed by six with five minutes remaining but the Musketeers outscored the Blue Demons 19-4 down the stretch to take the win, moving to 9-5 overall and 1-0 in BIG EAST play.

Naji Marshall led four Musketeers in double figures with 19 points and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

FIRST HALF

Xavier opened up on a 7-0 run, stretching the lead to 10-1 in the first four minutes of the game.
The Blue Demons opened up shooting 0-4 from the floor, going over four minutes without connecting on a field goal.
The Musketeers connected on 4-of-7 threes in the first six minutes, including a pair of outside shots from Ryan Welage, to extend the lead to 11 less than 10 minutes into the game.
Xavier led by as many at 12 in the first half before a 9-2 run for the Blue Demons cut the advantage back to three, 25-22 with 8:34 to play in the half.
After having the lead cut back to one possession, Xavier pushed the lead back out to as many as eight. DePaul would get as close as four in the final minute, but a basket from Quentin Goodin in the final seconds set the halftime margin at six, 38-32.
Welage led the Musketeers with nine points, hitting 3-of-6 from outside.
Paul Scruggs added eight and Goodin scored seven.
Xavier connected on 13 field goals, with assists on 10, including six from Goodin.
Both teams grabbed 16 rebounds. Naji Marshall led the Musketeers with seven.
Both teams finished the half with five turnovers, but the Musketeers outscored the Blue Demons 10-2 on points off turnovers.

SECOND HALF

Xavier pushed its lead out to seven to open the second half, but a 7-2 run for the Blue Demons cut the Musketeer advantage back to two, 43-41, with less 14 minutes left to play.
Xavier pushed the advantage back out to five on another Welage three, but a 5-0 outburst for the Blue Demons tied the game, 48-48, with 11 minutes left to play, the first tie of the game.
After holding a 51-50 lead on a Zach Hankins free throw, a pair of DU free throws put the Blue Demons ahead, 52-51, with 7:52 remaining in the game, the first time the Musketeers trailed.
After trading leads and free throws, DePaul scored five straight to take a two-possession lead, 57-53, with just over six minutes remining.
A Naji Marshall bucket stopped the DePaul run, but a back-to-ack Blue Demon baskets pushed the Xavier deficit to six, 61-55, headed into the final five minutes.
After falling behind by six, Marshall hit a pair of free throws to start an 10-0 run to retake the lead, 65-61, going into the final three minutes. The run featured five points from Marshall, and Ryan Welage's fifth three of the game.
The 10-0 run started a five-minute stretch where the Musketeers outscored the Blue Demons 19-2 to extend its lead to its largest of the second half at 11, 42-63, going into the final seconds of the game.
A DePaul basket at the buzzer set the final score at 74-65.
Marshall score a team-high 14 poitns in the second half and grabbed seven boards.
Ryan Welage finished the half with eight points, going 2-of-2 from the floor, both shots coming from three.
Tyrique Jones finished with eight second half points, including six points and a pair of blocks in Xavier's late run.
Xavier owned a 17-14 advantage on the boards in the second half.

NOTABLES

Naji Marshall's 19 points led all scorers and marked his ninth double-figure scoring performance of the season.
Marshall also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, besting his previous career mark of 13, for his third double-double of the season.
Ryan Welage finished with 17 points, connecting on 5-of-8 threes.
Tyrique Jones scored 13, shooting 5-of-6 from the floor. Jones also added
Paul Scruggs added 111 for the Musketeers.
Quentin Goodin dished out a game-high eight assists, half of Xavier's 16 total on 23 made field goals.

UP NEXT

Xavier opens up the home slate of BIG EAST play on Wednesday, Jan. 2 when the Musketeers host Seton Hall. Tip off with the Pirates is set for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.

POST GAME VIDEO

Tyrique Jones after scoring six points and blocking two shots in the final three minutes to secure the win! #LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/wt3qJwI1Bo
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) December 29, 2018