5 observations as Xavier Musketeers win a Big East thriller over Georgetown Hoyas, 92-91

Xavier head coach Sean Miller was grateful that the Musketeers' shot-making ability was able to save them in Tuesday night's win over Butler. When Friday rolled around, the shoe was on the other foot as Xavier's offense struggled shooting for the majority of the night against Georgetown.

Xavier needed to scratch and claw its way out of a 12-point second-half deficit on a night where it struggled mightily to get stops and rebound the ball.

In the final half-minute, Xavier got a stop when it needed it most to hold on to a 92-91 win over Georgetown and avoid what would've been a backbreaking loss at Cintas Center. Xavier now has a season-long three-game winning streak and heads into next week's two-game road trip 10-8 on the year and 4-3 in Big East play.

"We're fortunate to win. I think that's obvious," Miller said. "There were some games early on in the year we could've won but didn't. It's funny how that plays itself out over the long year. Tonight, we got one back."

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Here are five observations from Xavier's win over Georgetown:

Xavier's defense finally gets a stop

Georgetown guard Jayden Epps entered Friday as the leading scorer in the Big East at 18 points per game. The sophomore guard added to that tally in a big way with a game-high 30 points. Epps operated off the pick-and-roll, got to the rim with ease and knocked down contested shots.

Xavier wouldn't give him the opportunity to hit the game-winner, though. Up 92-91 with 27.1 seconds left, Xavier trapped Epps at halfcourt, and he had to give up the ball. Dayvion McKnight contested a shot from Georgetown's Jay Heath in the waning seconds at the rim that was off the mark and Abou Ousmane's seventh rebound of the night sealed it.

"We're having a tough time guarding him. In this last possession, we might not win, but he's not shooting. Somebody else is." Miller said of the double team call. "Dailyn (Swain) did a great job trapping at the right time. It's not like they didn't get a strong drive, but it wasn't him driving. All of us have the peace of mind in that possession that if it goes in, we made the smart move to make somebody else beat us and that's what we did."

Dailyn Swain delivers

Xavier freshman Dailyn Swain made a slew of impactful plays on both sides of the ball over his 21 minutes off the bench. None bigger than in the final minute, when he drove past a Georgetown defender and slammed in the go-ahead dunk that proved to be the game-winner with 27.1 seconds left.

"To see him (Swain) go at the basket and dunk it − so many times this year he would've been apprehensive. He's gaining more confidence," Miller said.

Just three days after Miller said he needed more from the bench, Swain answered the call with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

"He (Swain) impacted tonight's game in a way he hasn't impacted any game," Miller said. "He's had some good moments, but tonight he was one of our best players and he was involved in numerous plays throughout the game."

Xavier trailed by as many as 12 in the second half

Xavier was lethargic for most of the night. The building lacked any juice and the product on the floor wasn't providing any life as Georgetown opened a 56-44 lead. Xavier is one of the best transition teams in the country and it was the fast break that finally ignited a sleepwalking offense.

"Once we started making the small plays, we were climbing up that mountain fast," Desmond Claude said. "Our offense went with the flow."

Xavier had 20 fastbreak points and was able to score in a flurry midway through the second half to get back in the game. Xavier never had possession of the ball with the lead until the final buzzer but fought its way back into the game behind Quincy Olivari's 27 points and Claude's 19 points and 9 assists.

McKnight was in double figures with 18 and Ousmane added 10 to go with a team-high 7 rebounds. Xavier is averaging 87.3 points over its three-game winning streak.

Shots don't fall for Xavier early

In its previous two games, Xavier shot 22-of-45 (48.8%) from the perimeter. When the three-point shot is falling, it's bliss. When triples are off the mark, it can send an offense searching for answers, and even forcing the matter. Xavier opened Friday night 1-of-9 from three-point range while Georgetown seemingly couldn't miss, starting 7-of-9 from deep.

Epps gave the Hoyas the lead on the game's first possession, and they'd keep it for the remainder of the opening half. Along with Epps, Heath (18), Dontrez Styles (14) and Supreme Cook (13) were in double figures for the Hoyas. Georgetown racked up 21 second chance points off 15 offensive rebounds and shot 47.8% from 3-point range.

"We really didn't get the job done tonight on defense," Miller said.

Xavier has 2 tough games next week

Xavier will be back on the road next week for two of its toughest remaining games. The Musketeers have a quick turnaround for Tuesday night's matchup in Nebraska against No. 18 Creighton at CHI Health Center Omaha. Then, Xavier is headed northeast to Hartford, Connecticut to face the No. 1 UConn Huskies.

Xavier is back at home on Wednesday, Jan. 31 to face Rick Pitino's St. John's Red Storm.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Takeaways: Xavier survive scare from Georgetown in Big East play