'We worked together': Xavier bounces back with 66-49 win over Saint Mary's in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada − Xavier head coach Sean Miller questioned his team's toughness Friday night after a second-half spiral of turnovers, missed free throws and fouls resulted in a 74-71 loss to Washington.

Message received.

Xavier was night-and-day tougher on Sunday night in the consolation game of the Continental Tire Main Event, defeating Saint Mary's 66-49 at T-Mobile Arena.

"I thought we had a great response. To our team's credit, the last two days haven't been a lot of fun," Miller said. "We worked together. I believe we learned a lot from our Washington game. By the way, if we stop that game (Washington) at halftime, we did some of the same good things against Washington in the first half as we did against Saint Mary's. The problem with our group is you have to grow that good play."

Xavier's defense stymies Saint Mary's

Xavier allowed only 13 points over the final 18:43 of the first half after falling behind 5-0 early. The Musketeers were flying to the ball, tallying deflections, staying strong in the post and forcing Saint Mary's to settle for tough looks at the basket.

At the intermission, Saint Mary's was just 7-of-33 (21.2%) from the floor and Xavier had forced a half-dozen turnovers.

Xavier switched up its lineup for the first time Sunday with Miller inserting freshman Sasa Ciani into the starting center spot for Abou Ousmane, who fouled out the last two games. Ciani had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Ousmane still logged 14 minutes as Xavier's down-low defense and pressure on the perimeter set the tone.

Saint Mary's offense had a better second half with its success on the glass (20 offensive rebounds) and getting to the charity stripe but finished just 25.7% from the field. Xavier forced 11 turnovers and committed just 8.

"We overcame (second-half fouls), but we overcame that and came out on the other side and rekindled some of our good play," Miller said. "I thought our defense was outstanding."

Desmond Claude takes over in 2nd half for balanced Xavier offense

If you looked at the box score, Xavier's 28-18 lead could've been surprising considering its top scorer, Desmond Claude, was held to just 2 points in the first 20 minutes. Xavier shot less than 40% in the first half, but got a spark from guard Quincy Olivari, who knocked down his first three 3-pointers of the night and finished with 12 points.

In the second half, Claude came out on the attack and was the figurehead of a team looking to play more complementary offense. Claude opened the final period with back-to-back buckets to give Xavier a 32-18 lead and later stretched the Musketeers' advantage to 18 with an and-1 in transition. The sophomore had 11 points and is now averaging 16.6 per game, but also had a game-high seven assists.

"He (Claude) was a playmaker. He wasn't just a scorer. I think that makes our team, overall, much better," Miller said. "Seven assists and 1 turnover is a big stat for him tonight."

Claude was one of four Musketeers in double digits along with Olivari, Dayvion McKnight and freshman Trey Green (10), who knocked down in a three-pointer and finished a contested shot at the rim over back-to-back possessions late in the second half to extend Xavier's lead to 62-47.

Ousmane was efficient on both sides of the floor, going 4-of-8 from the field for 8 points. McKnight, who was just 1-for-6 on Friday, went 6-of-9 from the field for a team-high 14 points and was an all-around contributor with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Defensively, McKnight was the primary defender on Saint Mary's all-conference guard Aidan Mahaney, who was limited to just 7 points on 2-of-13 shooting.

"I thought he (McKnight) was our best player tonight. It was great to see," Miller said. "At Purdue, I thought he played an outstanding game. I go back to a year ago coaching Souley Boum. If all of us would've evaluated Souley on Nov. 19, I don't think anyone would have predicted he'd be a first-team all-Big East performer.

"Regardless of where these guys are in their career, if they came from somewhere else, all of us owe them the month of November and some of December before they totally understand what's expected."

Need for speed

Miller has been calling for a fast-paced offense all offseason, but Xavier hadn't been able to capitalize on its up-tempo opportunities through four games. The Musketeers had just 2 fast-break points against Washington on Friday but registered 14 on Sunday.

It was a point of emphasis to attack early in the shot clock against a Saint Mary's team that is annually one of the best defenses in the country in the half court.

"I do believe we got some great opportunities early in the shot clock. We have pushed the pace (this season), we were just better at it tonight," Miller said. "Not as many quick, bad looks."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier shows toughness in Las Vegas, defeating Saint Mary's, 66-49