East Tennessee St. Buccaneers vs Xavier Musketeers Box Score on Dec 16, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 16, 2017

CINCINNATI -- Trevon Bluiett hit a go-ahead jumper with seven seconds left to help No. 10 Xavier rally from a 22-point, second-half deficit to defeat East Tennessee State 68-66 on Saturday afternoon at Cintas Center.

Xavier (10-1), which had a week off for semester exams, was sluggish throughout most of the game and trailed by 22 with 14:25 left before staging a furious rally.

Bluiett, who missed nine straight shots in one stretch, finished with 18 points, including the game-winner. Freshman Naji Marshall had 15.

Desonta Bradford led ETSU with 20 points including four 3-pointers. Peter Jurkin added 11 for the Buccaneers (6-4).

During its four-game winning streak, Xavier outscored its opponents 55-28 during the first five minutes. It took a while for the Musketeers to find their footing in Saturday's game. Xavier went 4 of 13 from the floor in the first five minutes but led 11-5.

But, East Tennessee State had all the energy early in Saturday's game.

Bradford's layup beat the shot-clock to put the Buccaneers ahead 20-19. Bradford then buried a 3-pointer to put ETSU ahead 23-19. He scored 10 points in the half.

Xavier began the game 7 of 27 overall and 1 of 8 from 3-point range.

The Buccaneers went on a 10-0 run to build a six-point lead before Marshall's 3-pointer snapped an 0-of-7 shooting skid for the Musketeers.

ETSU led 39-27 at halftime, with Bluiett just 2 of 10 from the field. Xavier was 3 of 13 from 3-point range.

The Buccaneers kept rolling early in the second half. Bradford's third 3-pointer gave ETSU a 48-29 lead.

Xavier trailed by 22 when Bo Hodges hit a 3-pointer at the 14:25 mark. But, Bluiett snapped an 0-for-9 streak with back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Musketeers' deficit to 14.

Bradford picked up his fourth foul with 9:37 left. Kerem Kanter converted the three-point play and Xavier was within 13.

The Musketeers had a 7-0 run to get within eight, but Bradford again hit a huge 3-pointer for ETSU.

Quenin Goodin's three-point play for Xavier made it a two-possession game with 3:47 left. Kaiser Gates' 3-pointer made it a three-point game, setting up the comeback.

NOTES: Xavier has won 38 straight non-conference home games dating to the 2012 season. ... Entering Saturday's game, the Musketeers ranked second in the Big East and 10th nationally in scoring offense (90.4 ppg). ... Xavier is the second top-10 opponent this season for ETSU, which also faced then-No. 7 Kentucky on November 17. ... East Tennessee State has at least one made 3-pointer in 940 straight games, seventh longest streak in the nation.