The Sports Xchange
Nov 16, 2017
MADISON, Wis. -- Xavier senior forward Trevon Bluiett scored a game-high 25 points -- including a pair of 3-pointers with less than 2 minutes left in regulation -- as the No. 15 Musketeers held off Wisconsin 80-70 in a nonconference game at the Kohl Center.
Bluiett scored 10 points in the final 1:45.
Senior guard J.P. Macura delivered 20 points for Xavier (3-0), which avenged a 2016 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 setback to the Badgers.
Wisconsin freshman forward Aleem Ford drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:47 to go, but junior forward Ethan Happ was a catalyst prior to that basket with back-to-back layups.
Happ scored a team-high 21 points for the Badgers (2-1). Junior guard Brevin Pritzl added 13 and freshman guard Brad Davison scored a career-high 12 points.
Sophomore guard D'Mitrik Trice drilled a go-ahead jumper to make it 66-64 but Bluiett's two free throws tied things up at 66.
Bluiett, named to the preseason All-Big East Conference team, delivered 21 second-half points, was 10-of-10 from the free-throw line and had nine rebounds.
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard rotated players in the first half trying to find a spark on offense.
The Badgers had no starters on the court with 7 minutes to go in the first half, though Happ returned for a couple minutes. Happ, who had nine points, three rebounds and three assists, got his second foul and went to the bench with 4:29 to go.
Davison scored 11 points with four steals in 13 first-half minutes for Wisconsin. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Maple Grove, Minn., scored 13 total points in the Badgers' first two games.
Wisconsin sophomore forward Aleem Ford drained a 3-pointer from the left wing that tied the score at 34 with 54 seconds left in the first half.
With Happ and junior forward Khalil Iverson on the bench, Wisconsin closed the first with a 9-0 run that tied things up at 34.
Xavier shot 51 percent. The Musketeers host Hampton on Nov. 20.