NCAA College Basketball Box Scores

National Basketball Association

BOXSCORE | RECAP

Xavier 86, Buffalo 53

When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, November 14, 2016
Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials: # John Gaffney, # Brent Hampton, # Alfred Smith
Attendance: 10116

By The Sports Xchange

CINCINNATI -- With barely two days to prepare for Monday night's game against Buffalo, Xavier didn't have much time to work on its defense after Lehigh scored 81 points in Friday night's regular-season opener.

"Practice these past couple days was really geared toward defense," said forward Rashid Gaston. "We had to buckle down, play more team defense, be tighter in our gaps and make guys play one versus two or three, rather than one on one."

Whatever the Musketeers did, worked.

J.P. Macura scored 18 points, and Edmond Sumner and Trevon Bluiett each had 13, lifting the 11th-ranked Musketeers to an 86-53 victory over the Bulls at Cintas Center.

Xavier (2-0) forced 21 turnovers and limited Buffalo to 30.6 percent shooting.

"I think our team grew up from Friday to tonight," said head coach Chris Mack. "We're still not perfect. It's November 14, so we still have a lot of room for growth. Some of the things we really emphasized, taking care of the ball, defensive intensity, crowding the floor a little bit differently than we did against Lehigh ... we took a step forward."

Depth issues are plaguing Xavier with senior guard Myles Davis suspended and sophomore forward Kaiser Gates recovering from a knee injury. On Monday, a couple younger Musketeers had their best collegiate games.

Freshman forward Tyrique Jones had 11 rebounds and two blocks. Freshman guard Quentin Goodin, whom coaches urged to play less tentative, scored 11 points with four assists.

"I wasn't really scared, just hesitant," Goodin said. "Tonight, I played loose, started having fun and it worked out."

Sophomore forward Nick Perkins scored 15 points for Buffalo (1-1), which committed 38 fouls and had two players foul out. The officials were busy in Monday's game, calling a total of 59 fouls.

Just four minutes into the game, Buffalo was 0-for-6 from the floor and already had committed seven fouls to put Xavier in the bonus early. The Musketeers went 28 of 38 from the free-throw line.

"Our guys said they got screwed, but those officials worked the (NCAA) Tournament," said Buffalo head coach Nate Oates. "They didn't cost us (38) fouls."

The 38 fouls were the most for a Xavier opponent since 1998.

The Musketeers had their way in the post against Buffalo, scoring 40 of its points in the paint.

Bluiett hit a 3-pointer, and Malcolm Bernard's driving basket put Xavier ahead 9-0.

The Bulls went scoreless until a pair of free throws by Davonta Jordan with 14:55 remaining in the first half.

Jones' blocked shot ended up in the hands of Sumner, whose one-handed dunk put Xavier ahead 19-5, prompting a Buffalo timeout.

"He can affect things around the basket," said Mack of Jones. "He has a college-level physique already. He really elevates our team around the basket."

Sumner led all scorers with 11 points in the first half. After committing six turnovers Friday, Sumner had just one.

After scoring 48 points in the first half Friday, the Musketeers had 44 on Monday to take a 19-point lead into halftime.

Goodin's 3-pointer put the Musketeers ahead 60-37 with 11 minutes left.

"We wanted to play a top-10 team to see where we're at," said Oates. "We're not where we need to be, playing as selfish as we played."

NOTES: Xavier senior G Myles Davis, the team's assists leader and second-best 3-point shooter, remains suspended following a misdemeanor criminal damaging charge. ... Buffalo sophomore G CJ Massinburg is out indefinitely with mononucleosis. ... Buffalo plays eight of its first nine games on the road, logging more than 8,200 miles, including a trip to Anchorage for the Great Alaska Shootout. ... The Bulls have won consecutive Mid-American Conference tournament titles. No MAC team has won three straight.

Top Game Performances

Buffalo		Xavier
Nick Perkins 15	Scoring	J.P. Macura 18
Davonta Jordan 4	Assists	Quentin Goodin 4
Nick Perkins 7	Rebounds	Tyrique Jones 11
Nick Perkins 4	Free Throws Made	J.P. Macura 10
Dontay Caruthers 1	Steals	Malcolm Bernard 2
Willie Conner 1	Blocks	Tyrique Jones 2

Team Stats Summary

Team	Points	FG%	3PM-3PA	FTM-FTA	Assists	Rebounds	Blocks	Steals	Turnovers
Buffalo	53	30.6	10-27	13-21	8	26	4	2	21
Xavier	86	49.1	6-11	28-38	16	38	5	5	9