Carter, Jones Lead Musketeers Past St. John's, 69-61

Wednesday, January 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

8 p.m.

Xavier University

9-2,2-2Big East

St. John's

6-5,1-4Big East

St. John's (NY)

Xavier

Carter, Jones Lead Musketeers Past St. John's, 69-61

01.06.21 | Men's Basketball

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Freshman Colby Jones scored a team-high 16 points on Wednesday night

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Colby Jones scored a season-high 16 points and Jason Carter pulled down his second double-double (11 points, 16 rebounds) of the season as the Musketeers defeated St. John's, 69-61, on Wednesday night at Cintas Center.

Xavier improved to 9-2 (2-2 BIG EAST), while the Red Storm dropped to 6-5 (1-4 BIG EAST).

FIRST HALF

• Xavier scored six unanswered points to start the game and led 12-7 at the 14:27 mark on a Jason Carter layup. The Red Storm responded with a 9-2 run on 4-for-5 shooting, taking their first lead of the game, 16-14, with 11:18 on the clock.

• St. John's pushed its lead out to six points (27-21), it's largest lead of the half, at the 4:26 mark on a Rasheem Dunn basket. The Musketeers ended the half on a 6-0 run capped by a pair of Paul Scruggs free throws, tying the game at 27.

• Colby Jones led the Musketeers with eight points on 4-for-6 shooting. Zach Freemantle led the team with seven rebounds as the Musketeers held a 33-23 advantage on the glass.

SECOND HALF

• The first 12 minutes of the second half featured four lead changes and two ties with neither team leading by more than four points. Trailing 50-46 at the 9:31 mark, Xavier went on a 5-0 run capped by a Paul Scruggs three-point play - taking a 51-50 advantage.

• Following a St. John's free throw with 7:21 on the clock to tie the game at 51, the Musketeers scored seven unanswered points to take a seven-point lead, 58-51, and force a Red Storm timeout.

• Dwon Odom scored back-to-back baskets coming out of the timeout, giving the Musketeers their first double-figure lead of the game, 62-51, at the media timeout (3:30). All told, the Musketeers used a 16-1 run over four minutes and 40 seconds on 6-for-8 shooting.

• Xavier outscored St. John's, 10-7, down the stretch to pull away for the 69-61 victory. The Musketeers went 7-for-12 from the floor in the final eight minutes and 23 seconds of the game.

NOTABLES

• Colby Jones led four Musketeers in double figures with a season-high 16 points. The freshman guard went 6-for-10 from the floor with four rebounds and three assists.

• Jason Carter and Dwon Odom both chipped in 11 points, while Paul Scruggs had 10 points. Scruggs added three assists and two steals.

• Carter pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds as the forward recorded his second double-double of the year. Zach Freemantle added 10 rebounds for his third double-figure rebounding game of the season.

• Xavier held a 57-40 advantage on the glass. The 57 rebounds are a season-high for the Musketeers. The Musketeers also had 11 steals, their fourth game of the year with 10 or more steals.

• Xavier held an 18-14 advantage in points off of turnovers and scored five more second-chance points (12-7).

UP NEXT

• Xavier returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 10 vs Providence. Tip-off is slated for 11 a.m. with the game being aired nationally on FOX.

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