Local Teams

Paul Scruggs scored a game-high 20 points Sunday, including critical free throws with 29.5 seconds left, as Xavier continued its recent dominance of city rival Cincinnati with a 77-69 win on the Bearcats' court.

Scruggs went 8 for 8 at the foul line, making his last two attempts to up the margin to six. A Bearcats turnover and two more foul shots by Dwon Odom sealed the Musketeers' sixth win in the last eight games against Cincinnati.

Zach Freemantle added 16 points and nine rebounds as Xavier improved to 6-0, while Nate Johnson chipped in 10 points. The Musketeers finished the day at 51 percent from the field and also converted 16 of 21 free throws in the second half.

Keith Williams paced the Bearcats (1-1) with 18 points and six rebounds, while David DeJulius contributed 16 points, six assists and five rebounds. Rapolas Ivanauskas hit for 10 points, but Cincinnati struggled to make shots after halftime, canning only 13 of 34 from the field.

Xavier took the lead for good when Scruggs drove for a layup with 5:34 remaining, making it 63-62. The Musketeers protected the lead by going 10 of 13 at the line in the last 5:02.

The first half set the tone for a classic back-and-forth game between city rivals whose campuses are about three miles apart. Xavier was able to open up a 16-11 lead with 13:27 left when Adam Kunkel stroked a 3-pointer, but Cincinnati answered.

Mike Saunders' layup capped a six-point run that put the Bearcats ahead 17-16 with 11:17 left. Cincinnati led 21-18 before the Musketeers ripped off a 10-2 burst, going up 28-23 on Freemantle's layup with 6:49 showing.

The Bearcats rallied for a 35-31 edge when DeJulius made a layup with 1:43 remaining, but 3-pointers by Kunkel and Johnson in the last 1:36 enabled Xavier to take a 37-35 advantage to halftime. The main difference was that the Musketeers went 5 of 13 on 3-point shots, while the Bearcats hit just 1 of 8.

--Field Level Media