CHARLESTON, S.C. — Tyrique Jones had 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 18 Xavier to a 73-51 victory over Towson on Thursday night in the Charleston Classic.
The Musketeers are 5-0 for the second time in three seasons and first time since 2018, when they won the Big East Conference regular-season title and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
This Xavier group just might have the pieces for another special season as long as Jones keeps playing like this. The dynamic 6-foot-9 senior had a rim-rattling jam early in the second half and finished with the second double-double of the season and 12th of his college career.
The Musketeers will face either Buffalo or UConn in the eight-team tournament Friday night for a spot in the championship game.
Xavier opened a double-digit lead with a 15-6 run midway through the opening half. Paul Scruggs had a pair of baskets to start things, Dahmir Bishop hit a three, Scruggs added another bucket and Jason Carter finished things with two fouls and an inside basket to put the Musketeers up 15-6.
The Tigers (2-3) struggled against Xavier’s relentless pressure, turning the ball over on three straight positions. They weren’t much more successful when they held on to the ball, going 1 of 14 from the field during one brutal stretch of the period.
Towson got a bit of a lift heading to the locker room as Jakigh Dottin made about a 35-footer as time ran out to draw his team to 31-20 at the break. Still, the Tigers could not get their shots to fall, finishing just 18-of-59 shooting (30.5 percent).
Carter finished with 13 points and Bryce Moore added 12 points for Xavier, including a four-point play with 9:50 to go.
BIG PICTURE
Towson: The Tigers won’t be back home for a game until Dec. 10. They’ll be very used to each other after this seven-game stretch that started at with a loss at Florida a week ago and ends at Vermont on Dec. 7.
Xavier: The Musketeers' first four wins all came at home and, while they were not all easy, there was a comfort to not leaving the gym. This week in Charleston is a big test for Xavier, which could wind up playing Florida or Miami in its tournament game Sunday night – either for third place or for its third in-season title in the past five seasons.
UP NEXT
Towson will play the Buffalo-UConn loser Friday.
Xavier will play the Buffalo-UConn winner Friday.
