Baylor Bears vs Xavier Musketeers Box Score on Nov 28, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 28, 2017

CINCINNATI -- Kaiser Gates scored a career-high 19 points and J.P. Macura also scored 19, lifting No. 21 Xavier to a 76-63 victory over No. 16 Baylor before a sellout crowd of 10,503 on Tuesday night at Cintas Center.

Next up for Xavier (6-1) is the annual grudge match against crosstown rival and 11th-ranked Cincinnati at noon on Saturday.

Coming off a 102-86 loss to Arizona State on Friday at the Las Vegas Invitational, the Musketeers needed a more determined effort on defense.

Point guard Quentin Goodin responded with nine assists and no turnovers on Tuesday. He also scored six points.

Baylor (5-1) was led by Terry Maston, who scored 15 points off the bench. Manu Lamonte and Mark Vital each scored 11 points for the Bears.

Baylor did a good job keeping Trevon Bluiett at bay, holding him to 10 points, more than 11 below his average. But, the hot shooting of Macura and Gates, and 10 points from freshman Naji Marshall carried the Musketeers.

Xavier created good looks on offense early in Tuesday's game and a pair of 3-pointers by Gates and one by Macura helped build an 11-4 lead.

Gates scored nine points in the first half.

Xavier began the game by making 5 of 8 attempts from 3-point range and led by as many as 13 points in the first half.

Eight Musketeers turnovers helped keep Baylor close in the first half.

It was another slow start for Bluiett, who went without a field goal until his layup with 6:40 remaining in the first half. He had four points at halftime.

Maston, meanwhile, carried much of Baylor's scoring load in the first half with 15 of the Bears' 34 points. He averaged 11 per game coming in.

Macura banked in a long 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer, putting Xavier ahead 39-34.

Baylor kept Bluiett in check well into the second half, but the Musketeers maintained their lead. Two free throws by Marshall and a layup by Goodin pushed Xavier's lead to 53-43 with 11:55 left.

After having eight turnovers in the first half, the Musketeers did not turn the ball over for the first seven minutes of the second half. But, a steal and layup by Mark Vital during a 13-4 run cut Baylor's 12-point deficit to 61-56 with 7:26 left.

Bluiett scored four straight points to push the lead back to nine, and Xavier held on.

NOTES: Xavier has won 34 straight non-conference home games dating to the 2012-13 season. ... Baylor has beaten 18 ranked teams over the past three seasons and had won 21 straight regular-season non-conference games. … Baylor leads the series 3-1, including a 76-61 victory last season in Waco, Texas.