Xavier Shoots Down Morehead State Eagles

The Xavier Musketeers won its third game of the season clipping the Eagles of Morehead State 79-56.

Xavier held the Eagles to just 29 percent from the floor.  Xavier committed 29 fouls, leading to 38 Morehead free throws.  Fortunately for the home standing Musketeers, the Eagles converted on just 24 of them for 63 percent.  Only 32 of Morehead's 56 points came from the field.

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Xavier shot better, hitting 52 percent for the game.

Semaj Christon lead all scorers with 20 points.  Jalen Reynolds added 11.  Isaiah Philmore scored 10.

Chad Posthumus led Morehead with 12 points.  Luka Pajkovic, who played sparingly in the first half contributed 11 points, all in the second half.

Point guard Dee Davis shook off the effects of a concussion that he suffered in pre-season practice to make his first appearance for Xavier.

'I was really excited before the game," Davis said. "All my teammates were looking for me to get back. It always helps to have everybody on the team so we have extra bodies and more energy off the bench."

Davis scored seven point, dealt out nine assists and had a career-high five rebounds in his season debut.

A whopping 56 six fouls were whistled in the contest. Amazingly no one from either team fouled out.

"It was crazy. We’ve got to get used to it," Christon said. "We’ve got to adjust when the refs start calling ticky-tack fouls. Last year they let you get away with a lot foul stuff. This year, the game’s changed."

One of the few flaws in Christon's game is free throw shooting.  The sophomore was 0-for-4 from the foul line.

"I can make them. It’s a mental thing now," Christon said.

Morehead out of the Ohio Valley Conference has size and quickness, coming a pair of wins.  The Eagles dispatched Mid-Continent 107-60 in its season opener,  The handed East Tennessee State a 71-63 loss on Tuesday.

"I thought defensively we did a good job but you can't come into a place like this and shoot 29 percent.  It's not going to happen," said Morehead coach Sean Woods, a 1992 graduate of Kentucky in his second season.

"We got good looks at the rim and we got fouled but didn't make our foul shots either.  We did some of the things we needed to do but couldn't make our shots. When your key guys are sitting on the bench in foul trouble it is difficult," Woods said.

Xavier provided a challenge for the Eagles, who are trying to meld six newcomers into its rotation.

"I thought our guys were pumped.  Xavier showed how it's done.  It was a good test for us. We needed this.  We're a growing team," Woods said.