CINCINNATI — Make it four straight Crosstown Shootout wins for Xavier. The Muskies defeated the Bearcats 80-77 in the 90th Crosstown Shootout.
Xavier dominated the first half, holding Cincinnati to just 25.9% shooting from the field. The Musketeers were clicking on all cylinders, going into the half up 17 points. After a half-time pep talk from Cincinnati legend Kenyon Martin, the Bearcats came out in the second half a different team, shooting 62.5% from the field.
Despite a phenomenal four-point play by David DeJulius with only 11 seconds left, Xavier found a way to throw one last knock out punch. Musketeers guard Souley Boum drew a foul, knocked down his first free throw. After an intentional technical foul by Cincinnati Head Coach Wes Miller, Boum proceeded to knock down two more free throws ultimately winning the game.
The WCPO Sports Team was in the building to take in the entire game, check out their analysis:
Marshall Kramsky:
The 90th Crosstown Shootout at Fifth Third Arena was one of the greatest sports environments I’ve ever been a part of. The fans brought the energy, to the point that the arena was so loud, I could not hear the person sitting immediately next to me in press row.
As for the teams on the floor, both Cincinnati and Xavier have rosters compiled of special players. Both teams can compete with any team in the country on any given night. Both teams could also lose to any team in the country on any given night.
Cincinnati showed resilience. Going into the locker room, the Bearcats looked deflated. A different Bearcats team walked out of the locker room at halftime. According to David DeJulius, that had a lot to do with UC legend Kenyon Martin telling the team to get their act together. DeJulius’ four point play to tie the game made my jaw drop to the floor. Wes Miller showed why he is so highly regarded as one of the best young coaching minds in college basketball when intentionally calling a time out and drawing a Technical Foul, giving his Bearcats one last shot. The Bearcats have all the talent in the world, they need to figure out how to buy into Wes Miller’s system for a full forty minutes of action.
Xavier won the game, and they deserve all the credit. The Musketeers started fast, found wide open shots, and did not give an inch defensively in the first half. Playing in front of an EXTREMELY hostile Cincinnati crowd had to be difficult. Xavier players showed composure and grit, despite clearly being worn out at times in the second half. The three headed beast of Souley Boum, Zach Freemantle, and Jack Nunge makes Xavier extremely dangerous as they prepare for Big East play. If head coach Sean Miller can get figure out a way to find more players he can trust in his rotation, the sky is the limit for Xavier.
Caleb Noe:
In the first half, Xavier looked like the team we all know they're capable of being. Xavier is a dangerous shooting team from outside - #4 in the country in terms of 3-point shooting percentage. Even big-man, Jack Nunge can hit deep shots. He knocked-down 2 of them on Saturday. Mix that with the fact that Cincinnati struggled to match-up with Nunge and Zach Freemantle down-low... Xavier had everything clicking in the first half.
Xavier appears to be the more complete team right now - a team that could legitimately be dangerous in march. But they simply have to be able to play a complete game, offensively & defensively.
The second half was a different story. Xavier got worn down. The Musketeers got just six points from their bench on Saturday, and Sean Miller even admitted that he did not sub much down the stretch.
Only 7 of Xavier's 62 shots in the game came from bench players.
For Cincinnati, it's not that the team came-out on fire after halftime - although David DeJulius certainly did. The Bearcats just settled-down and let the game come to them. Combine that with - again - Xavier being gassed... Cincinnati was able to claw back into the game.
UC head coach Wes Miller said after the game, "Our guys were ready to play ... I think it's a 'not ready to play the right way' thing."
For the most part, it feels like Cincinnati goes... as DeJulius goes. DeJulius told us after the game that he made a conscious decision to be aggressive late in the game - especially when it came to his game-tying 4-point play.
But the Bearcats got big-time contributions from other players on Saturday as well. Ody Oguama had 2 dunks in the course of about 30 seconds, that helped pull UC back into the game. Not to mention, he had a +/- of 15 - the highest, by far, of any player in the game. Viktor Lahkin played a good game. I'm curious to know what that would've looked like, had he not been in foul trouble.
