Zach Hankins' 22-Point Performance Leads Musketeers to BIG EAST Tournament Win Over Creighton

Thursday, March 14

New York City, N.Y.

2:30 PM

Xavier University

18-14

Creighton

18-14

Creighton

Xavier

Zach Hankins' 22-Point Performance Leads Musketeers to BIG EAST Tournament Win Over Creighton

03.14.19 | Men's Basketball

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Xavier advances to the Semifinals to face No. 1 seed Villanova on Friday at 6:30 PM

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

NEW YORK - A 22-point performance from graduate student Zach Hankins led No. 4 seeded Xavier to a 63-61 win over No. 5 seed Creighton in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Xavier will face now No. 1 seed Villanova on Friday, March 15 at 6:30 PM.

Xavier led by as many as 12 in the second-half before the Bluejays came back to tie the game going into the final minute. Hankins, who went 11-of-15 from the floor, scored the winning basket with 20 seconds remaining off an offensive rebound and Kyle Castlin blocked the potential game-winning three in the final seconds to advance Xavier to the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals.

FIRST HALF

Creighton jumped out to a 5-0 lead, leading by as many as seven, 8-1, in the first four minutes of the game before a 7-2 Xavier run pulled Xavier back to within two, 10-8, with 14:54 remaining before the break.
Xavier was trailing by three when the Bluejays scored six straight to push the lead out to nine with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
The Musketeers outscored the Bluejays, 14-5, over the next five minutes, with threes from Kyle Castlin and Ryan Welage, and three baskets from Zach Hankins tie the game, 24-24, with six minutes to play in the half.
Creighton retook the lead, 26-24, before an 12-3 run for the Musketeers to close the half, including a Quentin Goodin basket at the buzzer, put Xavier ahead seven, 36-29, at the break.
Zach Hankins and Naji Marshall led the Musketeers with 10 points each.
Xavier shot 45.5 percent from the floor compared to 35.5 percent for the Bluejays, outscoring CU 22-8 on points in the paint. Xavier connected on 3-of-11 from outside while CU hit 6-of-17.
Hankins also finished the half with a team-high five rebounds and two blocks. Xavier held a 20-13 advantage on the boards.

SECOND HALF

Xavier continued its run to open the second half, scoring four points in the first minute of the half, extending the run to 12-0 and pushing the lead out to 11, 40-29, the first double-digit lead for either team.
Five points for Kyle Castlin early in the period helped the Musketeers extend the lead to as many as 12, 45-33, before the first media timeout of the half.
A 10-0 run for Creighton cut the Xavier advantage back to three, 45-43, with 11 minutes to play.
A free throw from Paul Scruggs ended a five-minute scoreless drought for the Musketeers.
After Xavier pushed the lead back to three, both teams were scoreless for over four minutes. Two free throws for Goodin extended the lead back to five, but a 7-2 run for CU tied the game 50-50 with 6:22 to play.
A Zach Hankins put-back gave Xavier the lead briefly, but a three-point play for CU gave the Bluejays their first lead since the first half.
Hankins responded with another basket, a Castlin basket off a steal, and back-to-back Hankins layups pushed the Xavier lead back to seven, 60-53, with under three minutes to play.
A three for CU ended an 8-0 Xavier run, starting an 8-1 run for the Bluejays to tie the game 61-61 in the final minute.
In the final 30 seconds, Hankins, after battling for a second Musketeer offensive rebound on the possession, scored to put Xavier ahead, 63-61, with time for a final CU possession.
The Bluejays dribbled into the final 10 seconds of the game, shooting a three which was blocked by Castlin to secure the win.
Hankins went 6-of-6 from the field in the second half for a team-high 12 points. Xavier shot 40.7 percent to 44 percent for the Bluejays.
CU held a slight 16-15 advantage on the boards in the second half, with Naji Marshall and Hankins each grabbing four to lead Xavier.

NOTABLES

Zach Hankins finished with 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor, his second-highest scoring out-put as a Musketeer, and just one off his Xavier career-best of 23 set against Georgetown on January 9, 2019. Hankins also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, including five offensive boards, and blocked two shots.
Naji Marshall added 11 for the Musketeers and grabbed eight rebounds.
Kyle Castlin added 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from outside.
The Musketeers shot 43 percent from the floor, including 4-of-18 from three, while CU shot 40 percent overall, but 10-of-30 from outside.
Xavier led 35-29 on rebounds, led by Hankins and Marshall.
The Musketeers advance to the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals for the sixth-straight season, each year Xavier has competed in the BIG EAST.

UP NEXT

Xavier, the No. 4 seed, faces No. 1 seed Villanova in the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals tomorrow, Friday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden on FS1.

HIGHLIGHTS