National Basketball Association
Xavier 77, Utah 69
When: 5:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 10, 2016
Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials:
# Ed Corbett, # Gary Prager, # Wally Rutecki
Attendance:
10350
By The Sports Xchange
CINCINNATI -- J.P. Macura broke out of his shooting slump with 18 points including five 3-pointers, and Trevon Bluiett also scored 18, helping No. 13 Xavier snap a two-game losing streak with a 77-69 victory over Utah on Saturday at Cintas Center.
Musketeers forward Rashid Gaston recorded his third double-double of the season and second straight with 11 points and 14 rebounds for Xavier (8-2) which extended its non-conference home winning streak to 28 games.
Freshman guard Devon Daniels scored 19 points, Lorenzo Bonam had 18 and JoJo Zamora added 12 for Utah (6-2), which fell to 0-2 vs. ranked opponents this season.
Redemption came swiftly on Saturday for Macura, who was 1-for-11 from 3-point range in back-to-back losses at Baylor and Colorado.
The junior guard hit a pair of 3-pointers to help Xavier go ahead 16-12. He was 4-of-5 from long range in the first half and had a team-leading 14 points.
Gaston was dominant in the first half, scoring nine points with 10 rebounds.
Utah, the nation's top rebounding team, was bested on the boards 19-11 in the first half. Xavier finished with a 33-28 rebounding edge for the game.
Tyrique Jones had a pair of follow dunks and Macura's third 3-pointer gave Xavier its largest lead to that point, 29-18.
Daniels led Utah with nine first-half points and Bonam added eight. But, the Utes trailed 40-29 at halftime.
Kyle Kuzma who came in averaging 16.4 points and ranked 16th nationally with 11 rebounds per game, had only two points and four boards in the first half. But he responded after halftime and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Utah began the second half 3-for-3 from 3-point range and cut Xavier's lead to 44-40.
Macura hit another 3-pointer to extend the Musketeers' lead to 53-46.
Xavier has had difficulty closing out games this season. And, after Edmond Sumner picked up his fourth foul with 7:33 left, the Utes managed to stay within striking range.
Jayce Johnson's basket cut Utah's deficit to 67-61 with 1:39 left, but Xavier managed to hold on for a much-needed victory.
NOTES: Saturday's game was the first meeting between the schools. ... Xavier's last home non-conference loss was on Dec. 22, 2012, vs. Wofford. ... Xavier didn't lose two straight games at any point last season. ... Utah faced its second Big East Conference opponent of the season. The Utes lost 68-59 to No. 16 Butler on Nov. 28. ... Utah fell to 0-5 all-time versus teams from Ohio (Cincinnati 0-2, Ohio State 0-2, Xavier 0-1).
Top Game Performances
| Utah |
|
Xavier |
|
Devon Daniels 19 |
Scoring |
Trevon Bluiett 18 |
|
Kyle Kuzma 3 |
Assists |
Edmond Sumner 4 |
|
Kyle Kuzma 10 |
Rebounds |
RaShid Gaston 14 |
|
Lorenzo Bonam 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Trevon Bluiett 6 |
|
Kyle Kuzma 2 |
Steals |
Malcolm Bernard 1 |
|
Devon Daniels 1 |
Blocks |
Edmond Sumner 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Utah
|
69 |
51.9 |
5-19 |
8-12 |
8 |
25 |
2 |
6 |
14 |
| Xavier
|
77 |
46.6 |
8-17 |
15-21 |
13 |
33 |
3 |
3 |
8 |
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