Local Teams

Freshman Colby Jones scored a season-high 16 points as host Xavier posted a 69-61 victory over St. John's on Wednesday night in Cincinnati.

The Musketeers (9-2, 2-2 Big East) rebounded from consecutive subpar performances against Creighton and Seton Hall by clamping down defensively in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Xavier was able to beat St. John's for the 12th straight time despite missing all 12 of its 3-point tries and getting a quiet night from leading scorer Zach Freemantle.

Freemantle was held to five points on 0-of-6 shooting though he grabbed 10 rebounds. He was not on the floor when Xavier switched to a zone defense and took control down the stretch.

Jones posted his first game in double-digits by shooting 6 of 10 from the floor as Xavier shot 37.5 percent. Jason Carter added 11 points and 16 rebounds to help Xavier to a commanding 57-40 rebounding edge.

Dwon Odom added 11 points while Paul Scruggs contributed 10, including the go-ahead three-point play that gave Xavier a 51-50 edge with 8:05 remaining.

Rasheem Dunn scored a season-high 17 points for St. John's (6-5, 1-4), which was playing its first game since beating Georgetown on Dec. 20. Leading scorer Julian Champagnie added 15, but he was 4-of-14 from the floor as the Red Storm shot 35.8 percent.

Xavier ripped off a 17-1 run to take a 63-51 on a free throw by Jones with 3:30 left and held St. John's without a basket for nearly seven minutes before Champagnie's 3-point play with 3:03 left.

Champagnie's 3-pointer made it 63-57 with 2:18 remaining, and it was 65-59 following a layup by Isaih Moore with 66 seconds left.

Following a turnover by Carter, Greg Williams Jr. missed a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, Xavier made four free throws in the final 40 seconds to secure the win.

Despite getting a combined three points from Scruggs and Freemantle, the Musketeers held St. John's without a basket for the final four-plus minutes and evened the game at 27-27 by halftime after two free throws by Scruggs with six seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media