The primary objective still hasn't changed for Xavier's men's basketball team – put all the pieces together for a full 40 minutes.
That still hasn't happened through two games, but on Friday night at Cintas Center against Kent State, the Musketeers found that winning form in the second half against a Golden Flashes team that should win a lot of games this season.
The second frame on Friday was preceded by a sloppy first half, highlighted by 13 turnovers. The Musketeers need to take care of the basketball and start games better, but the way they finished was impressive.
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There were adjustments that worked. Key players stepped up and took over. The offense complemented the defense, and vice versa. It was the first little glimpse of what Xavier could be this season when they play complete basketball.
Then the question becomes: can Xavier play that way consistently?
Paul Scruggs did it again
It wasn't the cleanest – five turnovers – or the most efficient performance of his career, but Scruggs was Xavier's pace car as it mounted its comeback.
The fifth-year senior scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, and Scruggs was the halftime motivation for the Musketeers, said head coach Travis Steele.
Scruggs said he could feel the tide turn right away in the second half.
"Definitely when we came out in the second half, right off the tip," said Scruggs. "We came out hard on the defensive end and I think that's what got us back in the game."
The Colby Jones effect
When the game was tied 52-52 with 10:25 left, Xavier went on a 16-2 run, during which Jones scored 11 of his 18 points. He attacked. He made tough mid-range shots. He got to the foul line, and his rebounding went above on beyond.
Early in that run, there was one play in particular that stood out and it started with a steal by Jones. When the ball got down to the other end, Jones came up with a pair of offensive rebounds to keep the play alive and after the second, he found Scruggs, who hit a tough runner on the baseline, got fouled, and made the free throw.
"Colby's always had a knack for rebounding," said Steele. "I always say, the one stat that translates over from high school to college is rebounding.
"... He's got a nose for the ball. He's got an understanding of kind of where the ball kind of goes. He can kind of anticipate it. He sees it."
Jones finished with eight rebounds, five of which came in the second half.
Xavier big men flourish
On the first possession of the second half, forward Jerome Hunter had three offensive rebounds and finished it off with a put-back. That play was a microcosm for the impact Xavier's big men would have in the second half.
Hunter finished with nine rebounds, six points, three assists, two steals and one block. The Musketeers outscored Kent State by 22 points when he was on the floor.
Jack Nunge, a 7-foot center who transferred from Iowa, got to show what he can do in a Xavier jersey.
The Musketeers made a conscious effort to feed him in the low post and he made the most of his touches, going 4 of 6 from the field and 3 of 4 from the foul line. He finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and his length defensively made a difference.
"Jack Nunge, specific, he gives us a skilled dude down there," said Steele. "He can think. He's poised. He can really pass. He can score. We have to utilize that. He's only practiced for a couple weeks here. So we're trying to figure him out kind of on the fly."
Dieonte Miles didn't noticeably pop out in the box score, but the 6-foot-11 sophomore changed the game for Xavier.
"You look at the stat sheet, you're gonna say, Dieonte Miles, I think played 23 or 24 minutes ... I don't think he scored, but he had three rebounds," said Steele. "But I'm gonna tell you, he really, really impacted the game in a big way on the defensive end. Just with his size, his length, his mobility.
"He was able to switch ball screens, which I thought really changed the game towards the end of the first half."
Kent State has high-major size and a roster filled with experienced transfers, and Xavier dominated the glass, 48-29.
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Addressing adjustments
Steele said after the season-opener against Niagara that his team was unable to make the necessary in-game adjustments to fix what wasn't working.
That wasn't a problem on Friday.
Xavier implemented adjustments on both ends of the floor and executed them the right way.
Defensively, the Musketeers were getting really spread out in the first half when they tried to hard-hedge on Kent State's ball screens.
They made a change to start switching all ball screens, which is why Steele heaped so much praise on Miles, who was able to keep Kent State's smaller, quicker guards in front of him, and in the process, kept Xavier's defense much tighter.
When Nunge was in for Miles, Xavier dropped Nunge into the paint on ball screens to use his length around the rim, and he finished with two blocked shots.
Offensively, Xavier slowed it down, ran more set plays, and was much more deliberate with its attack than in the first half when the ball movement was stagnant and they seemed to settle for way too many jump shots early in the shot clock.
Xavier also made it a point to play inside-out, either working the ball inside to Nunge or driving the ball into the defense. The Musketeers shot 48% from the field in the second half and went 11 of 13 from the foul line.
Adam Kunkel makes plays
There was one play that stood more than the rest and on this particular play, the basketball was nowhere near the Belmont transfer.
Late in the first half, Kunkel saw a Kent State shot go up and immediately found an opposing player to block out for the rebound. Kunkel, with a man on his back, ran his man all the way out of bounds underneath the basket, while one of his teammates collected the rebound.
That play was a nice window into Kunkel's evening.
Kunkel played almost 27 minutes. He finished with seven points, three rebounds and four assists. He didn't shoot the ball particularly well, outside of his lone 3-pointer in transition which gave Xavier a 52-50 lead that sparked the 16-2 run.
Kunkel was able to create off the dribble and his passing was a welcome sight.
"AK, he is a player that needs freedom," said Steele. "Because he's very creative. He can get his own shot, but he makes guys better.
"... I thought he was in a really good rhythm tonight."
Toughness wasn't a question
With the way Xavier responded and the way it attacked the glass and defended, toughness wasn't a question like it was after the opener.
The Musketeers met that challenge and exceeded it. Guys were flying around all over the place in pursuit of Friday's win.
That's a great sign for this team if they can string it together from game to game.
Dwon Odom struggles
For the second game in a row, Odom didn't play well. The sophomore point guard played seven minutes and finished with two points, no assists and two turnovers.
Odom's had a hard time getting going in the first two games, but when he does find it, Xavier's going to have another weapon at its disposal at both ends of the floor.
"I believe in Dwon. Dwon's a really good player," said Steele. "I said it in the beginning in the opening statement, we got great players. It's gonna be different guys, different nights. That's the advantage we have with depth. So he'll be better. He's a great player."
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