The Xavier Musketeers took on the Dayton Flyers Wednesday night at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, where they picked up an 82-76 victory. The game was played outdoors, meaning the sunlight played a factor in shooting, especially in the first half. The Musketeers led wire-to-wire, coming up with multiple big plays late to close out the win.
In case you missed it, we did a live blog with thoughts throughout the game. Welcome to all of our new subscribers, we appreciate you all and we’re stoked for a great new season!
Five Key Takeaways
Mike Nwoko is a physical force, but needs to work on his discipline. He put up a double-double on the stat sheet with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He drew a total of 7 fouls, as his high level of physicality was a lot to handle for Amael L’Etang and Co. down low. He capitalized on drawing these fouls, going an impressive 11-13 from the stripe. The only concern was Nwoko committing a whopping 9 fouls, 6 of them being in the first half. Head coach Richard Pitino joked that he was close to a triple-double after the matchup. That would’ve been an incredibly unique achievement. If Nwoko can discipline himself defensively, he has the potential to be a top-tier big in the Big East.
Gabe Pozzato flashed potential, but is still rusty. He played 14 minutes, while putting up 5 points on 2-2 shooting. His first bucket was a contested three on the wing in the first half. In the postgame presser, Pitino mentioned that Pozatto still has a lot of rust, as you’d expect from someone who hasn’t played in over a year. Over time, Pozzato will pick it up and act as a key piece for the Musketeers. Look for him to fill that sixth-man role well throughout the year.
The team showed resilience despite a short rotation. The rotation was limited. Rolyns Aligbe and Asher Elson were out, while Kalek House played through a visible injury sustained early on. Pitino stated that he was hopeful to get Rolyns back soon, while he believes House will be good after a bit of rest. Elson is dealing with a longer-term injury and will be out for a while. Despite that, the team responded to each of Dayton’s surges and shut them down, ultimately leading to a win. With Rolyns out, Nikos Chitikoudis (Robert Morris transfer) filled in nicely. He had 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls and appeared ready to take on the physicality of jumping up from the Horizon League.
Chance Westry has a lot of potential, but struggled against Dayton’s pressure. In the presser, Pitino said that he believes Westry has the potential to be one of the best point guards in the nation. Tonight, he struggled against the Flyers’ high-intensity defense. Thankfully, there is time before the regular season to work on handling pressure. Chance also struggled on defense, committing seven fouls. Pitino said his message to Westry was to “play some defense.” Despite that, he had several clutch buckets down the stretch and put up four assists.
Ruben Dominguez is a proven lethal shooter who transferred in from Texas A&M last year. He started out 3/3 from deep, putting a spark into the Musketeers early. After the game, he said “I was not thinking when I was playing, I was just shooting the ball like I’m used to.” Ruben finished with 15 points, going 4-6 from 3 and 3-3 from the line. He credited his confidence to how much effort he and his teammates put into their practice.
Looking Ahead
The Musketeers will head to Knoxville, Tennessee Oct. 15 for an exhibition game with the Tennessee Volunteers. This game will be televised on SEC Network+. Sansom Sports Media will have pregame coverage Tuesday.