Filip Borovicanin scored 13 points, hauled in 11 rebounds, dished eight assists and sparked a 17-0 second-half run to help host Xavier pull away from Missouri State for a 75-57 victory Friday night in Cincinnati.
Jovan Milicevic scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Tre Carroll contributed 13 points and seven boards for Xavier, which led 39-35 three minutes into the second half. However, the Musketeers, playing their final game before Big East play begins Wednesday at home against Creighton, scored 17 consecutive points and were not threatened for the rest of the game.
At one point during the run, Xavier made five straight shots from the field. The Musketeers again took care of the ball, committing just two turnovers in the second half and six for the game.
Xavier (8-3) won its fifth straight, overcoming some sluggishness in the first half and a seven-day layoff since its emotional win over crosstown rival Cincinnati one week earlier.
Keith Palek III led Missouri State (4-5) with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Darrion Sutton was the only other Bear in double figures with 12 points.
Both teams battled through ice-cold shooting spells in the first half. Xavier endured a pair of stretches in which it missed seven straight shots from the field, opening the game by missing 21 of their first 29 shots.
Missouri State wasn’t much better, missing 15 of its first 23 attempts from the field. But the Bears stayed close thanks to their work on the boards and in the paint. Missouri State outrebounded Xavier, 21-19, and outscored the Musketeers, 20-16, inside.
Neither team led by more than four points in the opening 20 minutes, with the Bears using an 8-0 run to turn a 13-9 deficit into a 17-13 lead with 11:21 left in the first half. Trailing 19-15, Xavier answered with a 7-0 spurt for a 22-19 lead.
Milicevic scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half, helping Xavier to a 31-28 halftime lead. Palek had 10 of his 23 points to go with seven rebounds in the first half for the Bears.
–Field Level Media
