CHARLESTON, S.C. − Xavier men’s basketball will leave South Carolina a better team than when it arrived, even if its record remained just one game over .500.
Following a heartbreaking, last-second loss to Georgia in the opening round of the Charleston Classic, Xavier ended the multi-team event (MTE) with another bounce-back effort, beating West Virginia, 78-68, in the third-place game Nov. 23 at TD Arena.
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“Certainly, a terrific win for our program,” Xavier head coach Richard Pitino said. “I’m proud of them. It’s a very, very confident group.”
Xavier (4-3) climbed back over .500 heading into a five-game homestand and avoided its first winless MTE since getting swept in the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2013.
“If you saw our shootaround today, it was one of the hardest practices we’ve had this year and it was early in the morning,” Pitino said. “These guys are foaming at the mouth to compete with each other, to get better every single day.”
More: ‘It’s happening.’ Xavier takes step forward despite loss to Georgia
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Xavier holds off West Virginia with barrage of 3-pointers
In its last win, Xavier buried 16 3-pointers in a blowout of Old Dominion. The Musketeers duplicated that effort with an elite shooting display against West Virginia, going 16-of-25 (64%) from downtown.
“They’re playing the right way. They’re sharing the basketball, they’re shooting the ball well, taking great shots and doing a lot of great things,” Pitino said.
Starting center Jovan Milicevic, who tied a career-high with 21 points, was 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, Tre Carroll was 5-for-6 and guard All Wright went a perfect 4-for-4. That trio combined for 52 points.
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“I feel like we’re starting to get a feel for playing with each other and when you make shots, the game’s easy,” Milicevic said. “We did a great job today making shots.”
When Xavier needed to stop any West Virginia momentum, it went to the perimeter and knocked down a silencing shot. West Virginia cut the lead to four (36-32) early in the second half before Milicevic hit a triple. His final 3-pointer of the night came in transition to give Xavier a 60-51 advantage.
Jovan Milicevic, shown against Old Dominion, tied a career-high with 21 points, going 5-of-8 on 3-pointers as Xavier went 16-of-25 (64%) from beyond the arc in its 78-68 win over West Virginia in the Charleston Classic Nov. 23.
The Mountaineers were on an 8-3 run in the final minutes when Filip Borovicanin’s only 3-pointer of the night smashed into the backboard and fell harmlessly into the hoop to make it 72-63 with 3:36 remaining, causing Pitino to bury his face into the scorer’s table in disbelief.
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“We like him (Borovicanin) banking 3s from the left wing,” Pitino joked. “It was a dagger of a shot. I think it put us up nine. Certainly not the way you draw it up, but it’s better to be lucky than good sometimes.”
Xavier matches West Virginia’s physicality in Charleston Classic win
Xavier committed five early turnovers in the first 5:35 but quickly matched the bruising nature of West Virginia’s defense. Over the final 34-plus minutes, the Musketeers played with just five turnovers and tallied 11 takeaways of their own.
“We settled in and played the majority of the game, 35 minutes, with five turnovers, it’s terrific,” Pitino said. “When we space the floor well and we’re sharing it, we’re hard to stop.”
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Xavier went just 9-of-30 shooting from inside the arc and were outscored in the paint, 32-14, but the Musketeers have come a long way in the toughness department. It’s shown in Charleston by going toe-to-toe on the glass with Georgia and West Virginia. On Sunday, Xavier lost the rebounding battle, 33-31, but permitted just seven offensive rebounds.
“A lot of these teams are gonna be bigger than us, but we were scrappy and got the rebounds we needed to,” Pitino said.
Milicevic had a season-high seven rebounds, followed by Borovicanin (six) and Carroll (five).
“We felt like maybe going in our advantage was going to be physicality, but we just never could impose any physicality on them,” West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said. “We let them get comfortable.”
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Xavier’s offense starts, stays hot from long range
Facing a physical West Virginia defense, Xavier had five early turnovers. Xavier got better against the Mountaineers’ pressure and rallied from an early eight-point hole from beyond the arc.
Xavier was 8-of-13 from three-point range in the first half with four different Musketeers connecting. Carroll started 4-for-4 from deep, hitting on back-to-back possessions to give Xavier a 27-25 lead with 5:48 left in the half.
Xavier was just 3-of-13 shooting from inside the arc in the first half and went over 14 minutes without making a shot from inside the arc. Borovicanin ended that spell with two late buckets, including a pull-up jumper just before the horn to give Xavier a 36-28 lead at the break.
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Borovicanin finished another stat-stuffing performance with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Xavier’s defense picks up where it left off
Fueling Xavier’s comeback attempt against Georgia Nov. 21 was a defense that held the high-flying Bulldogs to just 25 second-half points.
Xavier’s defense continued to get stops against West Virginia, holding the Mountaineers to just 37.5% shooting in the first half Sunday afternoon. After being outscored 15-5 over the final 3:58 of the first half against Georgia, Xavier held West Virginia to just seven points over the final 10 minutes of the opening half.
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West Virginia leading scorer Honor Huff, the nation’s leader in made 3-pointers last season at Chattanooga, was scoreless (0-for-3) at the half.
Treysen Eaglestaff led West Virginia with 20 points and Huff scored all 16 of his in the second half. West Virginia shot better (50%) in the second half but were just 6-of-22 from distance.
“Overall, defensively, we were rock solid,” Pitino said.
What’s next for Xavier Musketeers basketball?
After playing three of its last four games away from Cintas Center, Xavier opens a five-game homestand against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, Nov. 28.
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That stretch ends Dec. 17 when Xavier opens Big East play against Creighton. Xavier’s next road game is Dec. 20 against Georgetown in Washington, D.C.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Analysis of Xavier’s win over West Virginia in Charleston Classic
