The Sports Xchange
By Jack McCarthy, The Sports Xchange
Xavier 84, DePaul 74
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Guard Semaj Christon scored 27 points and forward Justin Martin added 18 to lead Xavier to an 84-74 Big East victory over DePaul on Monday afternoon.
The victory was the second straight and 10th in 11 games for the Musketeers (15-4, 5-1).
Forward Cleveland Melvin scored 25 points while guard Billy Garrett Jr. added 18 as the Blue Demons (10-10, 2-5) dropped their second straight.
Forward Isaiah Philmore added 13 points for Xavier.
The Musketeers, who never trailed, sprinted to a quick 11-5 lead behind Christon’s five points. The Blue Demons scrambled back and forced a brief 22-22 tie on forward Forrest Robinson’s rebound tip-in with 8:18 left.
It was the game’s lone deadlock as Xavier launched a 13-5 run over the next 2:46 to open a 35-24 advantage with 5:48 showing.
Xavier’s lead never slipped below eight points and the visitors closed the half with an 11-1 run in the final 2:29 for a 50-32 advantage.
Christon had 19 first-half points as the Musketeers shot 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the field. Melvin topped the Blue Demons with 12.
Despite the big deficit, an energized DePaul team emerged from the break. Utilizing a full-court press, the Blue Demons forced four turnovers and outscored the Musketeers 15-7 in the first 4:26 to turn to cut the deficit to 57-47.
Two Melvin free throws later cut the Xavier lead to seven at 61-54 with still nearly 12 minutes to play.
The Musketeers pushed the lead back to 13 points at 71-58 with 9:03 showing but the Blue Demons were not finished.
A 9-1 run over 2:56 gave Xavier an 81-66 lead with just under three minutes to play, and it never slipped below 10 points the rest of the way.
NOTES: DePaul G Billy Garrett earned Big East rookie of the week honors after averaging 16 points and four assists in two games, including a career-high 21 points in a 77-75 win over St. John’s. … Garrett tops the league in free-throw percentage (96.2), C Tommy Hamilton is tops in 3-point field goal percentage (8-of-10, 80 percent) while F Cleveland Melvin is seventh in scoring with a 16.7 average and has scored in double figures 90 times in 108 career games. … Xavier guard Dee Davis landed on the Big East honor roll after collecting 15 points and seven assists in an 80-67 win over Georgetown. … Xavier G Semaj Christon is second in league scoring with a 22.8 point average. The Musketeers have a sprinkling of votes in two national polls this week, among four Big East teams with recognition. … Xavier is at Providence while DePaul travels to Seton Hall on Saturday.
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