'The moment of truth for us.' What we learned from Xavier Musketeers' loss to Delaware
Xavier dropped its third-straight game at home on Tuesday night as the Delaware Blue Hens came to Cintas Center and stunned the Musketeers, 87-80.
Xavier drops to 4-5 on the year and has now lost two games as a heavy home favorite in the last eight days.
"We're at a point, this is the moment of truth for us," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "I thought through the nine games we've played; this was our worst performance."
Xavier played inconsistently during its first eight games this season and the same proved true on Tuesday night. Xavier didn’t play with the same intensity as it did on Friday in a hard-fought 66-60 loss to Houston, one of the best teams in the nation.
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"We've been at it awhile now. Our defense is ahead of our offense. Whether it be against Houston or throughout our schedule, we've had the ability to get big stops and play good defense," Miller said. "You talk about growing your good play or being the same team in the second half as you are in the first half. This game falls into a different category. It's about leadership, fight, unselfishness, hard play, will and toughness."
Xavier's defense gave up too many second-chance opportunities in the second half and struggled with getting stops as Delaware shot 50% from the field, including at a 56.3% clip in the second half.
Delaware fifth-year guard Jalun Trent, who was averaging 9.3 points per game, scored 21 of his team-high 27 points in the second half as the Blue Hens pulled away.
"We didn't fight until the end," Miller said. "When things got hard, instead of coming together on the defensive side of the ball. the opposite happened. You can just see it.
"I've been involved with tough losses. There are always those games where you don't have it or you play against a really good team away from home and the game gets away from you. I would say this game right here was different for me. I thought our guys didn't play until the end."
Delaware racked up 42 points in the paint and turned 17 Xavier turnovers into 30 points.
Quincy Olivari stays hot
Xavier was led by Quincy Olivari, who had his best offensive performance with the Musketeers with a season-high 34 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Olivari was 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and went 9-of-10 at the free-throw line.
"Quincy (Olivari) played a terrific game. I thought not only was it his best game, but he's been playing well," Miller said.
Sophomore guard and leading scorer Desmond Claude had 14 points but had to sit the majority of the second half after picking up his fourth foul with 15:35 remaining. Dayvion McKnight was the third Musketeer in double figures with 12.
Xavier led by 10 in the first half
Miller talked after the loss to Houston and at practice this week about Xavier defending home court and setting the tone early at Cintas Center. The Musketeers couldn’t do that against the visiting Blue Hens, though, squandering an early 10-point lead.
Olivari needed just over seven minutes to record double-digit points for the sixth consecutive game. The Rice transfer gave Xavier a 24-14 lead with one of his three first-half triples and ended the half with a game-high 17 on 5-of-8 shooting.
Delaware’s three-point shooting prevented Xavier from running away with it. Guard Cavan Reilly, who is shooting over 40% from the perimeter this season, had his own trio of first-half triples and forward Jyare Davis was efficient by the bucket to anchor Delaware’s 18-4 run. Reilly finished with 17 and Davis poured in 19.
Xavier’s defense tightened up and allowed just one field goal over the final five minutes of the first half and took a 41-38 lead into the intermission.
Abou Ousmane returns to starting lineup
North Texas transfer Abou Ousmane was back in the starting rotation after coming off the bench for the last four games. Ousmane finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks.
Up next
Xavier will host the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout against the unbeaten University of Cincinnati Bearcats (7-0) on Saturday at Cintas Center. The Musketeers are bidding for a fifth straight win in the rivalry.
"We're gonna have to be ready to go (on Saturday). That's our responsibility. Whether we're coming off a great performance and we won tonight's game or we're coming off a horrid performance like we had," Miller said. "We know who we're playing; we have to play our very best."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier Musketeers lose to Delaware Blue Hens before Big East schedule
