Xavier vs. San Diego game recap: Musketeers take down the Toreros

The Musketeers' defense in the first half was subpar for the most part, but they made the necessary adjustments during the break and started to pull away in the second half, eventually winning by the tally of 82-71 to stay unbeaten in regular season play.

The San Diego Toreros stayed competitive in this contest due to their ability to shoot the basketball. Johnny Dee, starting shooting guard for San Diego, shot very well and really helped keep his team in the game with a 20-point performance while shooting 6-11 from the 3-point line. Point guard Christopher Anderson tallied 10 points along with 11 assists. He was the only player in the game to boast a double-double, although Stainbrook was very close, and he was the only other Torero to score in double figures.

Trevon Bluiett led the Musketeers in scoring tonight, putting up 17 points while shooting 6-10 from the field. Like in the past few games, Bluiett has looked very comfortable scoring the ball and in no way does he look like a freshman. He will give all other Big East rookies a run for their money during this year's race for Big East Rookie of the Year award.

James Farr led the Muskies in rebounding, pulling down 10 boards in this contest. Rebounding and playing solid defense is all Xavier needs from Farr this season, as they have a multitude of scoring options unlike last season. Rebounding has been one of Xavier's strongest aspects this season and they continued that tonight by pulling down thirteen more boards than the Toreros.

Xavier will play UTEP tomorrow at 3:30 PM in Anaheim. The winner of that game will go on to play an unannounced opponent the following day in SoCal to see who wins this year's Wooden Legacy tournament. If Xavier can beat UTEP and follow that up with another victory on Saturday, expect to see Xavier ranked in the Top 25 come Monday.

Notes:

- Highly touted freshman Edmond Sumner played eight minutes this game and put up three points. Expect him to get more minutes and produce more points in the next few games.

- Myles Davis did not step onto the floor tonight for Xavier. That could be Mack's way of showing who will get the majority of minutes at the two guard position this year.

- Jalen Reynolds looked comfortable scoring the ball tonight, his athleticism was tough for the Toreros to counter. His overall effectiveness was overshadowed by foul trouble so he was not very effective on the glass for Xavier, look for him to step it up tomorrow.

- Brandon Randolph looked very comfortable playing back-up point guard tonight and it seems like he will get most of the minutes behind Dee this year.  Brandon is insanely athletic and he can really defend so his getting more minutes is good for the Muskies.