Xavier gets revenge against Colorado
CINCINNATI — Given rematches against three teams that beat them last season, Xavier ran the table.
Trevon Bluiett scored 25 points, J.P. Macura emerged from his slump by making his first six shots, and No. 13 Xavier completed a streak of nonconference payback wins by drubbing Colorado 96-69 on Saturday.
The Musketeers (9-1) already had victories over Baylor and crosstown rival Cincinnati, which beat them last season, and they set a goal of completing the trilogy. Last season, they blew a nine-point lead in the second half and lost 68-66 at Colorado.
"We circled those on our calendar," Bluiett said. "Those were our get-back games."
The Buffaloes (7-2) were never in it. Their inexperienced team fell behind by 26 points in the first half and got no closer than 13 the rest of the way. Namon Wright led Colorado with 20 points.
Macura shot 3 of 13 from the field in the previous two games. He made his first six shots against Colorado, including a threepointer for a 42-16 lead, and scored all of his 17 points in the first half. He missed his only shot in the second half, when Xavier led by as many as 29 points.
MARSHALL 93, TOLEDO
87: Jon Elmore scored 25 points, Ajdin Penava added 24 and Marshall (7-3) rallied late in the second half to slip past host Toledo (5-4). Trailing by eight with three minutes to play, Marshall scored 14 unanswered points. Tre'Shaun Fletcher scored a career-high 31 points for Toledo.
WRIGHT STATE 63, KENT STATE 54: Grant Benzinger scored 13 points and Justin Mitchell collected 11 rebounds and tied a career high with five steals as Wright State (6-4) defeated Kent State (5-5). Jalen Avery scored 17 points for Kent State.
MIAMI 81, FORT WAYNE 73: Jake Wright never shot inside the three-point arc and hit a careerhigh seven threes for a career-high 22 points, and host Miami (6-4) beat Fort Wayne (6-5). The Redhawks shot 14 of 25 from beyond the arc.
BUTLER 95, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 67: Kamar Baldwin scored 19 points, Paul Jorgensen and Kelan Martin had 15 apiece and Butler (8-2) coasted over Youngstown State (2-8). Martin had 11 in the first half when the Bulldogs made half of their 10 three-point attempts and shot 57 percent overall to race to a 48-23 lead.
OHIO DOMINICAN 82, TREVECCA NAZARENE 51: Ohio Dominican (6-3, 2-1 Great Midwest Athletic Conference) limited Trevecca Nazarene (1-10, 0-4) to 19 points in the second half to win easily at home. Sam Hickey scored 21 points and Ronnie Williams added 13 for the Panthers.
OHIO WESLEYAN 67, OBERLIN 58: Ohio Wesleyan (7-1, 3-0 North Coast Athletic Conference) closed the game on a 9-2 run to beat host Oberlin (4-5, 0-5). Grant Gossard scored five points in the run and finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Nate Axelrod scored 26 points for Ohio Wesleyan.
WITTENBERG 86, DENISON 55: Mitchell Balser scored 18 points and Wittenberg (8-0, 4-0 NCAC) shot 55 percent from the field in defeating host Denison (6-2, 3-1). Maxwell Siwik scored 13 points for Denison, which made just 32 percent from the field.
CAPITAL 70, OTTERBEIN 59: Joey Weingartner scored 28 points and Caleb Cox had 12 points and 11 rebounds as Capital (3-5, 1-2 OAC) beat host Otterbein (0-8, 0-3). Austin Schreck added 14 points for Capital. Maurice Beavers had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead Otterbein.