Roddie Anderson III, Tre Carroll, All Wright and Jovan Milicevic each scored 20 points to help Xavier cruise past visiting Old Dominion, 99-69, and give Musketeers coach Richard Pitino his 250th coaching win on Tuesday night in Cincinnati.
The four 20-point scorers combined to shoot 29 of 46 from the field as the Musketeers (3-2) trailed for just 13 seconds while snapping a two-game skid.
LJ Thomas had 13 points and six assists in 27 minutes while Drew McKenna chipped in with 12 to pace Old Dominion (2-3), which lost its second straight game by more than 20 points.
The Musketeers dominated the first half with two significant runs. A 16-4 spurt put Xavier up 30-10 with 8:30 left in the half. Old Dominion then answered with its best stretch of the game, going on a 9-0 surge, with Thomas scoring six of the nine points.
The Monarchs got as close as 32-24 on five straight points from Robert Davis Jr. before Xavier finished the half on a 19-5 run — including seven straight to end the half — to take a 51-29 halftime lead.
Xavier scored 16 points off Old Dominion’s 10 first-half turnovers and dominated in every facet of the game, which included handing out assists on all 18 of its first-half baskets. Carroll led a sharpshooting display by knocking down 5 of 8 shots to score 15 points in 18 first-half minutes. Milicevic added 13 points as Xavier outrebounded Old Dominion, 21-9.
Xavier took its biggest lead, 90-53, on an Anderson 3-pointer with 6:07 remaining.
Pape N’Diaye provided a big presence in the paint in the second half for Xavier, recording two blocks and grabbing three rebounds. The big man finished with five rebounds as the Musketeers were never threatened.
Xavier celebrated the 25th anniversary of the opening of its home arena Cintas Center in style. On Nov. 18, 2000, the Musketeers beat Miami (Ohio), 68-54, behind late coach Skip Prosser.
–Field Level Media
