Malik Messina-Moore (23 points) and Jovan Milicevic (22 points) led a strong offensive performance for Xavier in a 97-84 win over Providence in Cincinnati on Saturday.
Tre Carroll (18), Filip Borovicanin (15 and 10 rebounds), and Roddie Anderson III (14) rounded Xavier’s five double-digit scorers, combining for all but five of the team’s points.
Xavier shot 49.3% from the floor and 40% from 3-point range in the victory, snapping a three-game skid.
The Musketeers (10-7, 2-4 Big East) raced out to a 44-35 lead at halftime, with six made 3-pointers in the first half. Xavier finished the first half with no turnovers and 12 assists on 15 made field goals.
Providence (8-8, 1-4) tried to keep up with Xavier’s pace in the first half, but missed 14 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.
Stefan Vaaks led the Friars with 21 points. He was 4-of-5 inside the three-point arc and 3-of-10 on perimeter shots. Jason Edwards added 16 points but likewise struggled from the perimeter, making 2 of 8 threes.
The Friars finished the game 8-of-32 (25%) from outside the arc.
All three of Providence’s Big East losses entering Saturday had been by five points or less.
After Xavier made a late surge to take a nine-point halftime lead, it carried that over into the second half, opening the final 20 minutes on a 10-3 run to open a 16-point lead, 54-38, with 17:57 left.
The Musketeers kept the Friars at arm’s length, finally extending their lead to 20-plus points on a Messina-Moore three with 5:06 left.
Providence closed the game on a 14-6 run to make the final score appear closer than much of the second half actually was.
Xavier, which came into Saturday second in the Big East in assists (18.1) and turnovers (10.0) per game, finished the victory with 23 assists to four turnovers.
The Musketeers also held a sizable advantage in fastbreak points (30-16), notched 44 points in the paint and had seven blocks and four steals, compared to four and one, respectively, for the Friars.
–Field Level Media
