1 2 T
Bears 30 26 56
Musketeers 32 27 59

CINCINNATI (AP) Paul Scruggs saw an opening and went to the basket for the shot that would finally give No. 21 Xavier some breathing room.


The Musketeers (4-0) never trailed but couldn't shake clear of the team picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears (2-2) tied it at 56, but Xavier made a free throw and two big plays in the closing seconds.


''I felt when we got up early, our guys thought it would be easy,'' Steele said. ''I could tell by their faces and eyes in the huddle.''

Instead, it would come down to the closing seconds.


''I had an open lane and I took it,'' Scruggs said.


''The clock was dwindling down and I almost called timeout but I saw the ball get swung to Paul and said, `We're just going to let this thing roll,''' Steele said. ''He's fearless. He's ready for that moment.''


''We haven't been playing very well,'' coach Dana Ford said. ''But I take encouragement from a game like this. The way we've been playing, we could have come in here and lost by 20. We're playing better than we were.''

Jones added 15 points and six rebounds but had five of Xavier's 15 turnovers. The Musketeers again struggled to make perimeter shots, going 5 of 23 from beyond the arc against the Bears' 1-3-1 zone defense.

The Musketeers were coming off a ragged 63-58 overtime victory over Missouri. They blew a 15-point lead and rallied from behind to send it overtime on Marshall's 3-pointer late in regulation.



West's 3-pointer tied it at 36 early in the second half, but Scruggs hit a layup and a 3 as Xavier rebuilt the lead 49-40. The Musketeers couldn't break free, however, repeatedly missing open outside shots. Gaige Prim's fast-break dunk tied it at 56 with 1:29 to go.




''We're taking the 3s we want and we're taking the 3s we can hit,'' said Scruggs, who was 2 of 5 beyond the arc. ''We just need to get in the gym and make more shots.''










Xavier fans chanted ''Myles Garrett!'' when Prim got a technical foul for throwing the ball in the first half. The Browns star was suspended indefinitely Friday by the NFL for pulling the helmet off Pittsburgh's Mason Rudolph and hitting the quarterback with it.


Missouri State plays Miami in the Charleston Classic on Thursday.

Xavier plays Towson in the Charleston Classic on Thursday.


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