Xavier And Cincinnati Shoot It Out In Shoemaker Center

 

 

The campuses are 2.4 miles apart but the importance of the game for the alumni for each school is global.  So much so, that former Xavier player, J.P. Macura, playing professionally in Turkey was watching the entire game at 1:00 am local time.

"I told our guys this is why they came to Xavier," said Travis Steele, the winning coach in Xavier's 77-69 win over the University of Cincinnati at a somewhat less hostile Shoemaker Center.

Neither team had more than a five-point lead in the game and Cincinnati led the Musketeers 60-56 when Keith Williams hit a jump shot with 8:03 left in the game.

From there Xavier's Paul Scruggs led the way down the stretch. He made a layup to cut the margin to two.  The Bearcats' David Dejulius answered with a jump shot but Scruggs took charge again.  Scruggs rebounded a miss by Rapolas Ivanauskus and fed Jason Carter for a 3-point shot on the other end of the court.  Scruggs split the defense with another drive for a layup that put Xavier in front for good with 5:34 remaining.

"Paul was the best player on the court, hands down, without a doubt," Steele said. "He was determined to go 3-1 for his career over Cincinnati.

Why?

"The teams don't like each other much," emerging star Zach Freemantle conceded.  The rivalry has been marred by fights in its history.  This meeting was a good clean hard fought game.

The series is 92 years old starting in 1928 and Cincinnati leads the series 51-37 but the Musketeers have won two in a row and three of the last four.  Scruggs has played in those last four.

"We just wanted that game more than they did," Scruggs said.  "We were mission driven."

Scruggs was the game's leading scorer with 20 points.  Freemantle scored 16 points with a game-high nine rebounds.  Nate Johnson scored 10 points.  

The Musketeers improved to 6-0 by playing all within 10 days.  They were better able to handle the load after freshman guards Colby Jones and C.J. Wilcher returned from Covid quarantine.  Junior Adam Kunkel from nearby Hebron, Kentucky, who transferred from Ohio Valley Conference Belmont U in Louisville obtained NCAA clearance to participate.  Kunkel made a pair of 3-point shots for six points. 

The Bearcats are now 1-1. 

Williams led them with 18 points.  Dejulius a transfer from the University of Michigan scored 16 points. Ivanauskas contributed 10 points and six rebounds.  Freshman Tari Eason used his 6'8" frame to pull in eight rebounds to lead the Bearcats.