Xavier is once again at 2-0 on the season, this being the 18th straight year they have reached that mark, but if you’re giving out style points you might be tempted to withhold a few based on how the Musketeers got there. The Le Moyne Dolphins are in their third year as a DI program and had managed 1 point per possession just once against a high major opponent, last years 14-19 Syracuse squad, in that time. That was a mark they just barely achieved last night when Trent Mosquera’s sixth three pointer of the night dropped through the strings with under 2 seconds left in the game to no effect apart from changing the final margin of victory. Xavier’s young squad’s growing pains continued in this game, but from a binary results perspective they got the job done.
Early on it was Le Moyne dictating the game as Xavier’s reshuffle to the starting lineup, resulting in first starts for All Wright (6/1/1) and Jovan Milicevic (6/1/2) failed to spark a better start than they had against Marist. Mosquera needed no invitation to get hot early and poured in 11 points before the second media timeout, helping the Dolphins build a 7 point lead as the clock ticked under 12 minutes. Xavier’s response was swift and, as it turns out, decisive with Malik Messina-Moore (17/0/5) once again leading the charge with this pair of three pointers being complimented by Roddie Anderson III (15/3/2) pouring in his first triple as a Musketeer. Xavier outscored Le Moyne 13-3 over a span of just 3:28 to take the lead for good and create hope that this team might fully click for the first time and put the game away. Xavier would build the lead to as many as 9 as Isaiah Walker (6/0/1) and Wright added threes of their own to Xavier’s 11/17 first half barrage.
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The lead would stretch to 10 early in the second half when Tre Carroll (11/5/4) hit Xavier’s first three point attempt out of the break, but that would be as big as the margin ever got. After looking like they were going to swat Le Moyne aside for the last 12+ minutes of the first half, Xavier were frustratingly incapable of replicating anything resembling that effort after the break. After racking up 15 points off turnovers in the first half, Xavier got just 5 in the second. The shooting performance of 15-29/11-17/2-4 before the break morphed into a hideous 10-30/2-8/9-12 after it. Once again the glimpse we got of a team capable of putting the pedal down and blowing away a low major opponent was fleeting and well in the rearview by the time the final buzzer sounded. The ending was not quite as harrowing, thanks mostly to a herculean effort on the glass from Filip Borovicanin (6/12/4), who grabbed 11 rebounds including 4 off Xavier misses in the second half. It could well have slipped all the way away had Anthony Robinson (4/4/2) not held his nerve and drained both chances of a one-and-one opportunity with 2:21 left and the X lead whittled to 3.
Takeaways
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Xavier’s option 1A is emerging– The two players to have scored double digits in both games so far are Tre Carroll and Malik Messina-Moore. Being charitable to Carroll, it looks like it’s taking him some time to find his feet and (hopefully) his 79.7 ORTG is not indicative of the production that can be expected of him going forward. Messina-Moore, on the other hand, has been a steadying force for Xavier’s offense to this point. He’s 5-13 from deep this season and has 7 assists to 2 turnovers. The game flipped last night when he got aggressive and the solution to stopping the droughts that have held this team back so far may well be found in creating chances for him.
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The two dropped starters responded– After getting the nod to start on opening night, Roddie Anderson III and Filip Borovicanin dropped to the bench and both produced much improved performances. Roddie was once again all over the place on defense, but saw a three drop and was able to get to the rim and score or get to the line on a couple of big occasions. Borovicanin had a debut to forget, but absolutely dominated the glass last night and shot a perfect 3-3 from inside the arc. Xavier needs their depth to be an asset and the way these two responded to a change in their individual gameplans was a good sign.
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The two new starters did not– It was not a completely out of left field call to have Wright and Milicevic get the nod in the second game of the season. Both were excellent coming off the bench, but struggled to make the same impact as starters. Milicevic was just 1-5 from the floor and had a pair of turnovers in 19 minutes, while Wright shot 2-4 from deep, and is now 6-9 for the year, but had fairly minimal impact apart from those possessions, posting a second outing with a usage rate of 10%. Some players respond better to coming off the bench than starting, and it could well be the case with these two, and after two games it seems like Coach Pitino is still tinkering around with the rotations and combinations to try and get more consistency out of this group.
