by Tim Daniel
With 11:30 remaining in the game Paul Scruggs had a fast-break dunk to give Xavier the 57-56 lead, but from that point on, to quote the great New Found Glory It's all downhill from here.
For the remainder of the game, St. John's went on a 30-16 run to defeat the Musketeers on their home court, 86-73. Up until the game vs DePaul, Xavier could hold their head up high on the fact that they hadn't had any bad losses on the season but have now taken two Q3 losses in their last four games.
Coming off a strong performance in the second half at Seton Hall, leading into a very good performance at home vs UCONN, Xavier fell flat tonight. Costly turnovers, not getting back on defense in transition and an inability to hit three-point field goals did the Musketeers in for their 8th loss of the season and their fourth home loss of Big East play.
Xavier was without senior sharpshooter Nate Johnson tonight with a knee injury suffered against UCONN on Friday. Johnson came into the game as a game-time decision but was not with the team during warmups shortly before the tip-off.
Sophomore guard Dwon Odom got the start in place of Johnson. Odom scored nine points in the game on 4/5 shooting from the floor. Once again, Jack Nunge was the workhorse for the Musketeers with 22 points and seven rebounds.
For St. John's, Posh Alexander made his return to the lineup coming off the bench, scoring eight points and four assists. NBA Draft prospect Julian Champagnie had a very impressive 27 point, five-assist performance tonight leading the way for a St. John's victory.
Xavier has now lost three of their last four games, the good news is their next opponent, UCONN is the one victory in that stretch. The Musketeers will travel to face the Huskies on Saturday at 12 PM EST.
