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After a full week since their shellacking at the hands of the Marquette Golden Eagles, Xavier Musketeers coach Travis Steele promised that things would be different when the Musketeers faced the Hoyas. He kept his end of the bargain, as the Musketeers used a new line-up in route to a solid 66-57 win over the Georgetown Hoyas.
The most notable was change was the benching of starting point guard Quentin Goodin. The 6-foot-3 senior had started nearly every game since Edmond Sumner got injured his freshman season but has really struggled in Big East play shooting just 5-33 (15.2%). Using the cover of a pregame knee injury, Goodin was replaced in the starting line-up with 6’9” freshman forward Zach Freemantle but the real story was fellow freshman Kyky Tandy. Tandy came off the bench to log career highs in minutes (28) and points (18) to help lead Xavier to a much-needed win.
Xavier got out early and wound up leading for almost the entire game. After the Hoyas got out to a quick 4-2 advantage, Xavier countered with 10 consecutive points while quickly building a lead that got up 18. The Musketeers led 35-23 at halftime and the Hoyas were never able to cut the lead below eight in the second half.
While Tandy was the story of the night, forward Naji Marshall equaled the freshman’s 18 points while adding five assists and four steals. Forwards Tyrique Jones and Jason Carter each recorded doubles, with the former scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 boards while the latter scored 11 and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Musketeers’ performance was perhaps more impressive given that guard Paul Scruggs, arguably the Musketeers’ best scorer, went 2-15 from the field and tallied only five points. His struggles were mitigated by Xavier’s 16 offensive rebounds which led to 20 second-chance points.
There really weren’t any standout performances in a rough night for the Hoyas. Guard Mac McClung scored 19 points, but went 6-19 from the field to get there. Forward Jamorko Pickett led Georgetown with 10 rebounds.
On Sunday, Xavier will take a trip to Omaha to finish the season series with Creighton after dropping the first matchup to the Bluejays by a score of 77-65. Sunday’s game will tip at 4 p.m. and be televised on FS1. Georgetown will get a weekend off before hosting the No. 13 Butler Bulldogs next Tuesday. That game will tip at 9 p.m. and be televised on CBSSN.