Xavier Musketeers vs St. John's Red Storm Box Score on Feb 28, 2019

Naji Marshall had a career-high 31 points while making five 3-pointers to lead Xavier to its fifth straight win, an 84-73 victory over St. John's in a Big East game Thursday night in Queens, N.Y.

The winning streak for Xavier (16-13, 8-8 Big East) comes after a six-game losing streak. The Musketeers were also led by Tyrique Jones (11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists) and Quentin Goodin (13 points). Zach Hankins also had 11 points and seven rebounds.

St. John's (20-9, 8-8) was paced by LJ Figueroa's 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field. Shamorie Ponds had 13 points, six assists and four steals for the Red Storm.

The Musketeers took advantage of a 38-22 rebounding edge to outscore St. John's 22-6 on second-chance points.

Xavier took the lead after falling behind 2-0 less than 2 minutes into the game. The Musketeers, who led by as many as 12 points in the first half, led 38-30 at halftime behind 15 points by Marshall.

The Red Storm fell behind by 11 points in the second half before rallying to cut the lead to 58-55 with 10 minutes remaining. Marvin Clarke II and Bryan Trimble each made 3-pointers in an 11-2 run.

Xavier quickly responded with a Kyle Castlin tip-in and a Marshall 3-pointer to push the lead to 63-55 with 8:59 left.

The Musketeers scored eight unanswered points to take a 75-59 lead, a run that was aided by a technical foul on St. John's coach Chris Mullins for arguing a foul call. Six of the points in this stretch were on free throws, four by Castlin.

There was a significant free throw disparity, with Xavier going 25 of 33 at the line and St. John's attempting only five free throws, making four.

After St. John's cut the lead to 78-68 on a 3-pointer by Greg Williams with 2:19 left, Marshall converted on two free throws to stem the tide. Marshall went 10 of 12 at the line.

--Field Level Media