Field Level Media
Dec 7, 2019
Naji Marshall tied a career-high with 31 points and had a season-high four 3-pointers and Tyrique Jones had 10 points and nine rebounds while playing through foul trouble when the host Xavier Musketeers made a case for a return the national rankings with a 73-66 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Crosstown Shootout on Saturday.
Marshall was 12-of-22 from the field, setting a career high in field goals made, and added a stat sheet-stuffing eight rebounds, three assists and a career-high five steals. The Musketeers (9-1), who have won eight straight in the series at Cintas Center, fell out of the AP Top 25 for the first time this week.
Keith Williams had 15 points and nine rebounds, Jaevin Cumberland had 14 points and Jarron Cumberland had 11 points and five rebounds for the Bearcats (6-3), who had won three in a row. The campuses are about three miles apart.
Marshall's fourth three gave Xavier a 45-35 lead five minutes into the second half, and his assist on a Quentin Goodin layup made it 49-35 before Jones hit a layup to cap a 9-0 run for a 51-35 edge with 11:55 left.
Jarron Cumberland scored seven straight points and the Bearcats closed to 51-42, and they got within seven at 71-64 on Jaevin Cumberland's three with 24 seconds remaining. Cincinnati stole the ball on the next possession but Jaevin Cumberland's three bounced off and Goodin hit two free throws to ice it.
Cumberland, the Bearcats' leading scorer, suffered a left hip injury in a victory over Vermont on Tuesday and did not appear fully recovered. He was 4-of-14 from the floor, with four assists and four turnovers
Xavier tied a season-low with 11 turnovers and had 21 points off Cincinnati's 17 turnovers.
Xavier played through early foul trouble to starters Jones and Paul Scruggs (seven points, three rebounds). Jones, the Musketeers' leading rebounder, picked up his second foul 4:10 into the game and did not play the rest of the half. Scruggs played six minutes in the half before playing the entire second half.
--Field Level Media