National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Xavier 96, Hampton 60
When: 8:30 PM ET, Monday, November 20, 2017
Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials: # Bo Boroski, # Carl Gaffney, # Steve McJunkins
Attendance: 10224

CINCINNATI -- Xavier could be excused for not playing its most inspiring basketball coming off Thursday night's win at Wisconsin and with a trip to Las Vegas coming up. But Musketeers coach Chris Mack was having none of it.

"We probably felt really good about everybody talking so highly of about us after the Wisconsin game -- well, most people -- and didn't turn it into the type of effort that you’d want," Mack said. "We have some guys who need to be a little bit more locked in regardless of the opponent."

Trevon Bluiett scored 21 points and Kerem Kanter added 15 off the bench, lifting No. 15 Xavier to a 96-60 victory over Hampton at Cintas Center.

Bluiett has scored 20-plus points in four straight games for the second time in his career, helping Xavier (4-0) extend its nonconference home winning streak to 33 games.

"Same old Trey," said Sean O'Mara, who scored 11 points. "I get to see him every day in practice. You know what you're going to get out of him."

Freshman Naji Marshall scored 12 points and Quentin Goodin had 10 points and five of the team's 18 assists. Xavier outscored Hampton 50-28 in the paint, but it wasn't as clean a victory as the score suggests.

Jermaine Marrow scored 20 points and Kalen Fisher added 12 for the Pirates (1-4).

Hampton played the final 2:22 without head coach Edward Joyner Jr., who was ejected after consecutive technical fouls.

It took a few minutes for Xavier to find its footing coming off a big road win. Hampton led early, but Kaiser Gates' 3-pointer off an assist from J.P. Macura during a 12-2 run put Xavier ahead 14-10.

"We have so many different weapons," Kanter said. "If the 3-pointer's not there, we can go inside."

Macura didn't have a great night coming off a 20-point game at Wisconsin. He scored two points and had two turnovers and four fouls, including a technical. Macura drew the ire of the Badgers' student section for some in-game taunting on Thursday.

Bluiett scored 10 points in 17 minutes and the Musketeers led 43-31 at halftime despite committing seven turnovers.

"He seems so comfortable," Mack said of Bluiett. "He has such a unique ability to create his own shot. He needs to be a complete player, and he's working hard at that."

Hampton shot 35 percent in the first half.

It was quite a different style of play for Xavier, particularly early in the game.

In the first three games, the Musketeers attempted 76 3-pointers.

Xavier had only seven attempts from long distance in the first half but was content to dominate the Pirates in the paint.

Hampton kept the score relatively close until Xavier began the second half with a 20-8 run to put the game away.

"We came out a little low energy," O'Mara said. "We had to step on the pedal. We wanted to establish inside and our guards did a nice job feeding us the ball."

NOTES: It was the first meeting between the schools. ... Xavier G Trevon Bluiett was named Big East Conference player of the week after averaging 25.5 points and nine rebounds in two victories, including an 80-70 win at Wisconsin. ... Hampton announced last week that it will be joining the Big South Conference effective July 1, 2018, ending 22 years of membership in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. ... Xavier plays George Washington on Thursday at the Las Vegas Invitational.
Top Game Performances
 
Hampton   Xavier
Jermaine Marrow 20 Scoring Trevon Bluiett 21
Jermaine Marrow 6 Assists Quentin Goodin 5
Jermaine Marrow 8 Rebounds Kaiser Gates 9
Jermaine Marrow 4 Free Throws Made Kerem Kanter 7
Trevond Barnes 3 Steals Trevon Bluiett 2
Trevond Barnes 2 Blocks Sean O'Mara 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Hampton 60 32.4 3-22 13-18 8 31 3 8 11
Xavier 96 54.2 4-14 28-38 18 43 5 7 11