Nov. 18, 2011
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Press Conference
Xavier 66, Miami 60 
by Chris Cullum
Cincinnati-- After going into halftime with a 30-28 lead, the Miami University men's basketball team fell to the No. 13/14 Xavier Musketeers, 66-60. Sophomore forward Bill Edwards led all players with 21 points, while senior forward Julian Mavunga added 17 points of his own, but it was not enough to overcome Xavier's second half surge.
Xavier got off to a hot start, building a six-point lead on Miami, 13-7. Six minutes into the game, however, the RedHawks made their move, shooting their way to a 10-0 run to give them a 17-13 advantage with 11:13 left in the first half. Mavunga and sophomore guard Josh Sewell each added four points to the scoring flurry.
The Musketeers got two quick buckets to tie the score at 17-17, but a 3-pointer by Mavunga gave Miami its lead back, making the score 20-17 with 9:39 remaining in the half.
After RedHawk turnovers on three straight possessions, Xavier went on a 6-0 run to take the lead, 28-26, with 4:13 left in the half. Edwards kept Miami in the game, however, scoring eight points after the Musketeers' run to give the RedHawks the momentum back. After Edwards' layup at the 1:04 mark of the half, the scoring ceased and the half ended with Miami leading 34-32.
After shooting only 33 percent from the field in the first half against Dayton in the season opener, Miami shot a much-improved 52 percent in the first half against Xavier. The RedHawks were 6-of- 10 from beyond the arc and Edwards was a perfect 4-for-r from downtown. His 14 points led all players in first half scoring, and Mavunga added 10 points himself.
On defense, Miami did a great job of containing Xavier's most dominant players, holding senior Tu Holloway and senior Kenny Frease to six combined points.
The second half started with two Xavier buckets to give the Musketeers a 36-34 lead. Xavier held the lead until a Sewell and-one gave Miami a 42-41 lead, which Mavunga later extended with a layup, making the game 44-41. On its next possession, the Dee Davis of the Musketeers nailed a trey to tie the game at 44-44.
Holloway nailed his first field goal of the game with 11:02 remaining in the game to give Xavier the lead, 46-44, and the Musketeers never looked back.
The Xavier lead reached a game-high nine points with 2:39 left in the game after another Holloway jumper, but the RedHawks did their best to claw their way back into the game. Edwards and freshman guard Will Sullivan each added two free throws, plus five points from Mavunga, to whittle the Xavier lead to three with 24 seconds remaining.
However, the Musketeers made their free throws to ice the game, solidifying the final score at 66-60.
In addition to his 21 points, Edwards also led all players with eight rebounds, while Mavunga added seven boards. Junior Mark Lyons led Xavier with 18 points, while Frease added 13 points of his own.
Miami's next game is Monday, Nov. 21 when the RedHawks travel to Saginaw Valley State to take on the Cardinals at 7 p.m.
