Tears for ’Teers, but few cheers

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The biggest celebration for Xavier came on a shot that didn’t end up counting.

That was the kind of day it was for the Musketeers, whose memorable run to the third Elite Eight in school history ended with a lopsided, 83-59 loss to No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Saturday in the West Region final at the SAP Center.

“Our guys have nothing to hang their head about,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said. “They’re obviously down. They’re competitors. I thank them for their continued belief throughout the year. It’s always tough when it ends.”

The biggest highlight for the 11th-seeded Musketeers came when J.P. Macura banked in a shot from threequarters court at the end of the first half that seemed to give Xavier a needed boost headed into halftime.

But a replay review determined the shot got off just after the buzzer, adding another disappointment on a discouraging day.

Star guard Trevon Bluiett had an off night, missing 11 of 14 shots, the Musketeers went through long stretches when they struggled to score and Gonzaga capitalized on a sagging zone defense to make 12 3-pointers.

In the end, the Bulldogs’ size proved to be the biggest difference in sending Xavier to its third loss in as many trips to the Elite Eight.

Double teams on Przemek Karnowski in the post led to some open 3s for Gonzaga, and the size of Karnowski and Zach Collins shut down Xavier’s offense. The Musketeers shot 35.5 percent and made just 2 of 16 3-pointers.

“They’re long so it makes it tough to score on the inside,” Bluiett said. “One of our main focuses is playing inside-out. And so when we can’t really get anything on the inside, it kind of makes it tough to create any type of offense.”—