WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 20th is a day for the underdogs in our nation’s capital.
In the afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings came to Capital One Arena and defeated the favorite Washington Capitals 5-2, firmly ranking first in the Eastern Atlantic Division.
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When the ice gave way to the hardwood, the Xavier men’s basketball team bounced back from a historic 41-point loss to Creighton, defeating Georgetown 80-77 in the Hoyas’ Big East home opener in front of 5,077 fans.
Trey Carroll’s face was covered in hair as he tried to get around Georgetown’s Malik Mack at Capital One Arena. Carroll led Xavier with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
Xavier hits game-winning shot in clutch moment, beats Georgetown
Xavier led by just 7:50 on Saturday night but took a 69-67 advantage into the final media timeout after Jovan Milicevic hit a corner 3-pointer. After the break, Xavier scored on its next four possessions, with several Musketeers contributing important shots.
Trey Carroll scored two consecutive low points, including a three-pointer, to make the score 74-70. Roddie Anderson III hit a step-back jumper and Filip Borovicanin’s mid-range jumper past Georgetown’s 7-footer Julius Halaifonua made it 78-74.
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In the final seconds of regulation, Xavier committed two intentional fouls with a three-point lead. With 3.4 seconds left in the game, Georgetown’s Seal Diouf missed consecutive free throws. On his second miss, the Hoyas grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked the ball to Malik Mack in the corner, but his game-tying 3-pointer missed and Xavier held on.
Xavier forward Jovan Milicevic went over Hoyas forward Jayden Ford for the ball during the first half at Capital One Arena on Dec. 20.
Xavier shows resilience in road win over Georgetown
Xavier was embarrassed in almost every way in the loss to Creighton. The Musketeers turned things around with a gritty win on the road. It’s not perfect. Xavier committed 14 turnovers, shot just 31.8 percent from three-point range and attempted 29 fewer free throws than his hometown Hoyas.
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It didn’t matter as Georgetown shot just 25-of-43 from the charity stripe, Xavier won the rebounding battle 45-36, and the Musketeers’ defense held the Hoyas to 34.6 percent shooting in the second half.
Xavier, led by Carroll, scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Borovikanin had his fourth double-double in eight games (11 points, 13 rebounds), and Anderson and Malik Messina-Moore had 14 double-doubles each. Milicevic was held scoreless against Creighton, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.
Georgetown surges ahead of scouting report early
Georgetown ranks 325th nationally in three-point shooting percentage. To their credit, the Hoyas didn’t try to force things from the outside, with only 35 percent of their shot attempts coming from beyond the arc.
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Georgetown surpassed the average early on Saturday with 4 of 8 games from downtown. Isaiah Abraham, who shot 25% from three-point range this season, hit two three-pointers in the first half. His second 3-pointer capped a 10-0 run by Georgetown, forcing Xavier to call a timeout with 7:50 left in the first half.
Reserve guard Kayvaun Mulready hit 2 of 20 shots and hit a 3-pointer to halt a 9-1 run by Xavier and cut Georgetown’s 10-point lead to 33-31.
Georgetown led 40-35 at halftime.
Musketeers guard Malik Messina-Moore takes a shot on Georgetown forward Isaiah Abraham during the first half of a Big East game at Capital One Arena on Dec. 20. Messina-Moore scored 12 points in the first half, but the Musketeers trailed 40-35 at halftime.
Georgetown opens wide at the free throw line
Xavier got into foul trouble early and often, giving Georgetown the victory just seven minutes into the game. The Hoyas nearly doubled their free throw shooting in the first half (15-8) but had trouble shooting from the charity stripe, hitting just 8 of 15 shots.
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Xavier didn’t play for nearly 14 minutes until Milicevic blew the whistle quietly for his first point in Big East play.
Georgetown continued to struggle with free throw shooting in the second half, finishing with 25 of 43 free throws. It was the most free throws attempted by a Xavier opponent since a double-overtime loss to Wake Forest in 2010 and the most in a Big East game since Butler attempted 42 in a 2015 win over the Musketeers at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
What’s next for Xavier men’s basketball?
Xavier (9-4, 1-1 Big East) will have 10 days off over Christmas break before taking on No. 5 UConn (11-1, 1-0) on New Year’s Eve.
This article originally appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer: Analysis of Xavier Musketeers’ Big East win over Georgetown