Back on track, Xavier gets a visit from Oakland

Field Level Media|published: Sun 26th November, 14:27 2023

Xavier Musketeers guard Dayvion McKnight (20) passes the ball during the NCAA men s basketball game against the Purdue Boilermakers, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. Purdue Boilermakers won 83-71. credits: Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Inspired and back on track, Xavier is out to build off its recent burst of success when it plays host to Oakland on Monday night.

The Musketeers (4-2) have answered two straight losses to Purdue and Washington with wins over Saint Mary's and Bryant. Xavier opened a two-game visit to Las Vegas with a 74-71 defeat to Washington before it rebounded to defeat Saint Mary's 66-49.

In Friday's home-court 100-75 win over Bryant, Xavier led by as many as 35 points in the second half. The Musketeers held the Bulldogs to 42.0-percent shooting from the field and forced 18 turnovers.

Quincy Olivari led all Xavier scorers with 22 points, draining four 3-pointers while adding five rebounds, four assists, and one turnover.

Lithuanian transfer Gytis Nemeiksa chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds. Dayvion McKnight delivered a motivational 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Xavier head coach Sean Miller announced after the game that McKnight played with a heavy heart after his 24-year-old brother died last week.

"Sometimes you're dealing with tragedy and different things that happen in sports, but you learn how important the camaraderie of a locker room, the camaraderie of being on a team, how it can really empower young people," Miller said.

"In this case, when something like this happens, almost like the last thing you want to do is give that up because that's your therapy. That's basketball. It's a game you love."

Oakland (3-3) is coming off a fifth-place performance in the Cayman Islands Classic, including a 78-71 win over Marshall last Tuesday in its tournament finale.

The Golden Grizzlies rallied to win two in a row after dropping its opener 85-77 against Drake.

Rocket Watts, who was named to the all-tournament team, was 7 of 15 against Marshall, finishing with a game-high 20 points. Watts finished the tournament 20 of 43 (46.5 percent) from the floor with seven rebounds and matched his career high with 23 points against Drake.

Oakland has rebounded to win three of its last four after opening the season with losses to Ohio State and Illinois.

"We played six times with just one home game, two Big Ten teams," Oakland head coach Greg Kampe said. "Every game has been a possible win-loss situation. In all three wins, we've had 15 or 20-point leads. Every game has been an adventure."

—Field Level Media