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Xavier Defeats Flamenco to go 4-0 in Brazil

Xavier's final game in Brazil ended up with the same result as their previous three, but their route to victory was a little different this time.

By Joel D
Brazilian kids throwing up the X.
Brazilian kids throwing up the X.
Tom Eiser

Xavier knocked off Flamenco (again) to finish their four-game swing through Brazil a perfect 4-0. After using second-half surges to take control of their previous three games in Brazil, Xavier jumped out to a 13-0 lead in this one and never looked back, cruising to a 91-68 victory. Freshman Trevon Bluiett paced X with 18 on 6-7/3-3/3-4 shooting.

In a game described by GoXavier.com as "physical," Xavier turned the ball over 23 times. Despite that, they still finished with an excellent 19 assists on 31 made baskets, and freshman ball handlers Larry Austin, Jr. and Edmond Sumner combined for 9 assists to 6 turnovers. It's not ideal, but having both of those guys at least be serviceable while presumptive starting point guard Dee Davis rests his hammy is a good sign.

The Musketeers shooting was stellar on the night, as they shot 31-56/8-13/21-18 as a team. You should usually use caution drawing too much from raw rebounding totals, but Xavier's 47-16 advantage on the glass could only indicate an unspeakable butt-kicking down low. Let's do some bullet points.

  • Noted leaper Sean O'Mara had the team's only two blocks to go with his 4/6/0.
  • Matt Stainbrook had 2/9/0 in 16 minutes, but the most important fact about his performance is just that he was out there with no restrictions.
  • Dee Davis is still resting his tweaked hamstring; he tallied zero minutes of game time in Brazil.
  • Edmond Sumner had 16 on 3-6/1-2/9-9 shooting. I love guards who can convert FT.
  • Speaking of the opposite of that, Jalen Reynolds was 1-4 from the line but still went for 13 and 11.
  • Larry Austin, Jr. had 4 steals to go with his 5 assists and 2 turnovers.
  • JP Macura didn't play; I don't know why.

All tolled, I like the way this trip went for Xavier. Coach Mack was intentional in getting everyone some minutes and playing with a lot of different lineups to get different combinations of players on the court. Thanks to the efforts of Tom Eiser and Cliff Jenkins, we were able to get a first glance at Xavier's seven new scholarship players before the beginning of the season. The Muskies are coming back with some game action under their collective belt and no more injury concerns than they had when they left. Sounds like a win to me.