No. 1 Seed Xavier Falls to Florida State in NCAA Second Round

Sunday, March 18

Nashville, Tenn.

8:40 PM

Xavier University

Florida State

Photo by: Dave Wegiel

No. 1 Seed Xavier Falls to Florida State in NCAA Second Round

03.19.18 | Men's Basketball

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

Senior J.P. Macura led a trio of Musketeers in double-figures in his final game

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

NASHVILLE – No. 1 seed Xavier's season came to a close Sunday night as the Musketeers fell, 75-70, to No. 9 seed Florida State in the 2018 NCAA Tournament Second Round. Senior J.P. Macura led three Musketeers in double figures with 17 points as Xavier finished the season 29-6.

NOTABLE

J.P. Macura led the Musketeers with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including going 2-of-3 from outside.
Kerem Kanter added 15 points and led the Musketeers with six rebounds. Xavier out-rebounded FSU, 33-32.
Paul Scruggs finished with 11 points.
The Musketeers shot 47 percent from the floor to 44 percent for the Seminoles.
Xavier went 29-5 on the season, one win shy of a program record. The Musketeers went 15-3 in BIG EAST play to win the program's first BIG EAST Championship.
Seniors Trevon Bluiett, J.P. Macura and Sean O'Mara won a program-record 104 games during their four-year careers at Xavier.
Bluiett played in a school-record 142 games. Macura has played in 141 games, which ranks second. Bluiett's 136 career starts are a school record.
Bluiett also holds the single-season record for three-pointers made in a single season, with his basket today bringing his total to 105.

FIRST HALF

FSU opened with a 5-0 lead, leading by as many as six, 8-2, after hitting its first two of its first three shots from outside.
Xavier responded with an 8-0 run, started with five straight points for Kerem Kanter and capped with a J.P. Macura three, to take its first lead at 10-8 four minutes into the game.
The two teams traded leads over the next four minutes, with Musketeers connecting on seven of its first nine shots, including Kanter hitting 4-of-4 to open the game, to just 5-of-13 shooting to open the game for Florida State. The Seminoles countered by grabbing four offensive rebounds in the first eight minutes for seven early second-chance points.
An 10-0 spurt helped Xavier push its lead past one possession midway through the first half, extending its advantage to nine, 24-15.
FSU responded with a 9-2 run to cut the lead back to two, 26-24, with under six minutes to play before the half.
Xavier held a four-point lead, 28-24, with five minutes remaining before the half when five straight points put the Seminoles back ahead. FSU led by as many as three before a Macura three and a pair of Quentin Goodin free throws put Xavier ahead 34-32 at the half.
Macura led the Musketeers with 10 at the half.
FSU held a 17-16 advantage on the boards in the first half. Kanter's three boards let the Musketeers.

SECOND HALF

Xavier opened the second half on 12-3 run to push its lead back out to 11, 46-35, with 15 minutes to play.
Five straight points for FSU pulled the Seminoles within five, but a lay-up for Kaiser Gates and a three for Trevon Bluiett pushed Xavier back ahead 51-40 with 13 minutes to play.
The Musketeers would lead by as many as 12 in the second half, but FSU would chip away at the lead, outscoring Xavier 8-1 over a two-minute period to pull within two, 66-64, with under five minutes remaining.
Kerem Kanter responded with a bucket to push the lead back to four, but FSU scored four straight to tie the score 68-68 with just over two minutes remaining.
Two Paul Scruggs free throws put Xavier back ahead, but an FSU three put the Seminoles ahead, 71-70, with less than a minute remaining. The one-point lead marked the first time since the first half Florida State led.
In the final 30 seconds, FSU hit four free throws to push its lead to five, 75-70, the final score of the game.
J.P. Macura led the Musketeers with seven points in the second half. Kanter, Bluiett and Quentin Goodin each added six in the second half.
Goodin and Macura each grabbed three boards to lead Xavier after the break.