Naji Marshall Scores 21 in Home Loss to Creighton

Saturday, January 11

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

12-5,1-3Big East

Creighton

13-4,2-2Big East

Creighton

Xavier

Photo by: Rooted Media House

Naji Marshall Scores 21 in Home Loss to Creighton

01.11.20 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Season Stats Box Score Photos

Marshall and Scruggs lead comeback as Musketeers fall short in second straight loss

By: Brandon Eckman, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier men's basketball fell to Creighton, 77-65, on Saturday afternoon, the second home loss of the 2019-20 season. Junior Naji Marshall led the way for the Musketeers with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Paul Scruggs added 19 points in a second-half comeback effort that came up short.

FIRST HALF

Xavier took an early 5-3 lead when Paul Scruggs connected on a three-pointer from the left side with 18:30 left to play. Two possessions later, the Musketeers collected two offensive rebounds, allowing Naji Marshall to connect on a driving layup, giving Xavier a 7-5 lead.
After going scoreless for almost four minutes, Marshall got Xavier back on track with a mid-range jumper, making the score 9-8 in favor of the Musketeers with 13:30 left to play. Xavier went scoreless for another four minutes before Tyrique Jones ended the drought with a dunk, tying the score at 13 with 8:00 remaining.
Xavier and Creighton combined for just 10 made field goals through the first 12 minutes of the first half. The Musketeers shot 29 percent, while the Blue Jays shot just 22 percent in that time.
With just under four minutes to play, Creighton tool a 20-15 lead, forcing the Musketeers to call a timeout. Following the timeout, two made three-pointers by Jason Carter and a floater from Jones made the score 27-23 with 1:50 remaining in the half.
The Blue Jays and Musketeers traded buckets in the final minute of the half, making the score 32-27 in favor of Creighton as the teams headed into the locker room for halftime.
Scruggs led the way for Xavier in the first half with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. Scruggs had five rebounds, a block and a steal in the half.
Three Musketeers scored six points in the half: Jones, Marshall and Carter. Carter grabbed four rebounds and shot 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Xavier shot 12-of-33, 36 percent, from the floor in the first half and shot 3-of-17 from beyond the three-point line. Xavier had two steals in the half and scored four points off Blue Jay turnovers.

SECOND HALF

Xavier opened the half with two second chance makes down low from Naji Marshall and Jason Carter, making the score 35-31 in favor of Creighton with 18:10 left to play. Creighton continued on a 5-1 run, giving them a 43-32 lead and forcing a Musketeer timeout.
Xavier cut Creighton's lead to five with 12:30 left in the half following a made hook shot by Marshall and a fast-break layup made by Zach Freemantle, making the score 45-40. A minute later, Marshall completed a three-point play to make the score 47-43.
Marshall knocked down a three-pointer from straight away with 8:20 left to play in the half, making the score 51-48 in favor of Creighton. Marshall scored or assisted on seven of Xavier's first nine made field goals in the second half.
Xavier went scoreless over the next four minutes of play as Creighton went on an 8-0 run, making the score 58-48 with 4:40 remaining in the second half.
KyKy Tandy knocked down a three-pointer with 3:10 left to play, making the score 62-53. Creighton's Mitch Ballock responded with another three-pointer on their next offensive possession, giving the Blue Jays a 65-53 lead with 2:40 left to play.
With 0:56 remaining, Paul Scruggs made a driving layup to cut Creighton's lead to 10 points. Two made free-throws by Creighton and another layup from Scruggs made the score 67-57 with 0:45 left to play.
Xavier and Creighton traded made free-throws before Scruggs knocked down a jump shot from straight-away, making the score 75-63 with 0:18 left to play. A foul by Naji Marshall sent Creighton to the line and the Blue Jays connected on both free throws. Scruggs scored an uncontested layup as time expired, resulting in the 77-65 final score.
Marshall scored 15 points in the half on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. He added seven rebounds and three assists in the second half for Xavier.
Scruggs added 10 points in the half for the Musketeers, shooting 5-of-8 from the field with four rebounds and one assist.
Xavier shot 43 percent from the floor in the second half and knocked down two three-pointers. 24 of Xavier's 38 second half points came in the paint.

NOTABLE

Naji Marshall led the way in scoring for the Musketeers with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor. Marshall had nine rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes.
Paul Scruggs added 19 points for Xavier, shooting 9-of-13 from the floor with nine rebounds and two assists. Scruggs also had a blocked shot and a steal in the contest.
Xavier and Creighton combined for just 10 made field goals through the first 12 minutes of the first half. The Musketeers and Blue Jays also combined for 9 turnovers in that time.
Marshall scored or assisted on seven of Xavier's first nine made field goals in the second half.
Xavier is now 10-10 in matchups against Creighton dating back to their first meeting in 2004.