CINCINNATI — Dwon Odom scored a career-high 19 points and Nate Johnson added 17 to lift No. 22 Xavier over Marquette 80-71 on Saturday in their Big East Conference opener.
Jack Nunge had 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Xavier (11-1, 1-0 Big East), which has won seven straight. Colby Jones added 11 points for the Musketeers.
Marquette (8-4, 0-1 Big East) was led by Greg Elliott’s 18 points and Justin Lewis’ 15.
Marquette’s full-court pressure was expected to be an issue for Xavier, which had averaged nearly 15 turnovers through 11 games. But the Musketeers finished with only eight turnovers, six in the first half.
After going 8 for 33 from 3-point range in a loss to UCLA, the Golden Eagles went 4 of 7 from behind the arc to start Saturday’s game.
It was a game of runs for both teams.
Marquette went on a 9-0 run to build an eight-point lead in the first half. But when the Golden Eagles cooled off from long range, Xavier took over. Odom sparked a run with six straight points, including a steal and dunk, to put the Musketeers ahead 31-30. Odom had tied his season-high of 10 points by halftime.
Xavier began the second half outscoring Marquette 12-4 to build a 50-40 lead.
Marquette had difficulty keeping Odom out of the lane. The sophomore guard made his first six shots and finished 8 of 9 from the field.
After going 17 of 18 from the free-throw line in a win over Morehead State on Wednesday, Xavier struggled on Saturday, making 21 of 35 to help keep Marquette in the game.
The Musketeers led by as many as 10 points in the second half but the Golden Eagles were within one point after an Elliott 3-pointer with three minutes left. But Nunge’s dunk off a lob from Johnson helped Xavier seal the victory in the closing minute.
Bellarmine 77, Miami (Ohio) 68
OXFORD — Alec Pfriem had a career-high 22 points as Bellarmine (6-7) defeated Miami (5-5).
Wright St. 72,
Tennessee Tech 63
DAYTON — Tanner Holden had 22 points as Wright State (3-7) beat Tennessee Tech (3-9).
Youngstown State 83,
Westminster 54
YOUNGSTOWN — Chris Shelton came off the bench to score 16 points to carry Youngstown State to a win against Division III Westminster (PA).
Mississippi 76,
Dayton 68
OXFORD, Miss. — Daeshun Ruffin scored 19 points, Nysier Brooks added 16 points and 11 rebounds and the two dominated the final minutes in Mississippi’s victory against Dayton.
Ruffin and Brooks scored all but three of the Rebels’ last 24 points, holding off Dayton’s rally from a 10-point halftime deficit. At one point in that final stretch, Ruffin scored nine consecutive Ole Miss points in a 13-4 run that gave the Rebels a 65-51 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the game.
Brooks made 8 of 12 from the field and Ruffin hit on 9 of 12 free throws. Jarkel Joiner added 12 points for the Rebels (8-3).
Malachi Smith had 16 points and 11 assists for Dayton (7-5). Toumani Camara had 15 points and nine rebounds. DaRon Holmes scored 14 points.
Ole Miss had a strong finish to the first half, outscoring Dayton 11-4 in the final three minutes to take a 34-24 lead at halftime. Dayton chipped away in the second half but never drew closer than five points before Ole Miss pulled away.
Mississippi celebrated the 100th game at SJB Pavilion which opened in 2016. It was Ole Miss’s ninth consecutive home victory, the Rebels’ most at SJB Pavilion.
Mississippi defeated Dayton for the first time. The Flyers won all seven prior meetings, dating to 1980.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
