The Xavier Musketeers (1-0) defeated the Marist Red Foxes (0-1) 66-62 in their home opener at the Cintas Center, weathering a second-half offensive eruption from Marist. After Xavier ran out to a 20-point lead a few minutes into the second period, the Red Foxes clawed back to take the lead with 3:22 to play.
It was the first meeting between the two teams in history, and Marist’s first Big East matchup since 2013.
However, clutch free-throw shooting from the Musketeers and the opposite for the Foxes stymied the onslaught; Marist began to run out of steam and left much-needed points on the table.
Xavier head coach Richard Pitino started his first game as Xavier coach after coming over from New Mexico, where he was the Mountain West Coach of the Year. The Musketeers brought in a conference-high 11 transfer portal players, while retaining zero scholarship players heading into this season.
Graduate student Rhyjon Blackwell erupted off the bench for the Red Foxes; 18 of his game-high 24 points came in the second half as he led the way for the Marist comeback. He shot an accurate 7-11 from the field, 3-5 from downtown and 7-8 from the free throw line. His stat line is encouraging for the Red Fox offense, as they struggled mightily from beyond the arc and from the stripe last season.
Overall, proficient guard play propelled Marist’s offense. Blackwell, junior guard Jadin Collins-Roberts and senior guard Elijah Lewis combined for 50 of their 62 points on a solid 19-29 shooting.
It was a tale of two halves for both teams: At the first-half buzzer, Xavier and Marist combined for just 48 total points as both defenses controlled the game. In the second half, however, the offenses came alive—Marist more than doubled its first-half total of 19 points with 43, while Xavier added 37.
Marist’s center rotation split minutes between sophomore forward Parby Kabamba and freshman center Jordan Gabriel as redshirt sophomore center Jason Schofield and sophomore center Tarik Watson sat out with ankle injuries.
The Red Foxes jumped out to an 8-2 lead after five minutes, getting out in transition off misses and turnovers.
Blackwell came in for sophomore guard Justin Menard early and provided an immediate offensive spark in the first half, draining back-to-back tough three pointers.
Marist’s defensive activity led to a huge scoring drought for Xavier, who mustered two points in seven minutes. The Marist offense struggled to find paint looks and missed three straight threes.
Xavier shot 3-for-17 and 0-for-6 from deep through the first dozen minutes, but managed to stay in the game through their energy on the offensive glass. They fought for eight offensive rebounds in the first half and put the Marist frontcourt in foul trouble.
After Marist took the lead 16-15, the Musketeers responded with a dominant 19-1 run in six minutes. The Red Foxes struggled to maintain their level of physicality, as the Musketeers entered the bonus with five minutes remaining in the period.
The free-throw inequality started to add up: Xavier converted 13 of its 16 first-half free throws while Marist shot just 3-of-7 from the line.
Lewis bruised inside for an and-1 to snap the Marist scoreless drought right before halftime, but the Red Foxes had serious issues to address. They trailed the rebounding battle 21-14, committed 11 personal fouls and turned the ball over 11 times. Despite Xavier shooting just 27 percent from the field, they scored 12 points off Marist turnovers and held a 29-19 lead.
Xavier’s tsunami to close the first half spilled into the second, as they extended their 20-3 run to bridge both halves.
Kabamba picked up his fourth foul 32 seconds into the second half, trying to recover defensively after giving it away at the top of the key; Kabamba struggled mightily, fouling out of the game without recording any points or rebounds despite starting.
Another steal by the Musketeer defense created a wide-open transition layup and forced Dunne to call a timeout less than a minute into the half.
Xavier’s lead ballooned to 20 on a wide-open three from sophomore forward Jovan Milicevic. After that, Blackwell took over.
He converted an acrobatic and-1 the next possession, part of a 9-0 run in which the Long Island native scored 7 himself to cut the lead to 12.
Blackwell’s hot hand was undeniable. A crossover into a contested mid-range jumper gave him nine points in ten minutes and pushed the deficit to eight, and Pitino called a timeout.
Kabamba fouled out with ten minutes remaining, forcing Gabriel to play the rest of the way. The freshman did his job in his extended minutes, scoring seven points and staying aggressive on offense.
Marist’s half-court offense looked revitalized in the second half, frequently driving to the basket as they entered the bonus with nine minutes to go.
Both teams kept throwing punches, as Xavier successfully beat back Marist to consistently keep their lead around double digits, but sparks flew during an 11-0 run that catapulted Marist back into the game.
Blackwell rose and nailed a three off a dribble hand-off through contact, converting the four-point play to make it a six-point game as time dwindled.
Collins-Roberts leapt for an interception after a double in the low post, blazing up the floor to toss a 2-on-1 emphatic lob to Lewis, who cut the lead to four with a slam. After a Xavier timeout, Collins-Roberts muscled his way for a put-back and-1 to cut the lead to one. Suddenly, the upset felt well within reach.
Marist regained the lead at the line, their first advantage since 16–15 in the first half, going up 60–59 with 3:22 to play.
Milicevic then buried a clutch three with just under two minutes remaining to put his team ahead by two, but Blackwell answered by hitting one of two free throws to cut the deficit to one.
Sophomore center Anthony Robinson calmly knocked down both free throws to extend the lead to three, and Daughtry could only split a pair at the line on the next trip, leaving his team down by two.
An offensive rebound off an airballed three-pointer sent Xavier to the line again. Milicevic sank both clutch free throws. The makes put the pressure on the Red Foxes, who trailed by four with 25 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.
A string of hesitant pump fakes and drive-and-kicks resulted in a desperate Gabriel heave that clanked off the rim and sealed the game.
Marist goes on the road to New Hampshire this Sunday, November 9th, facing Dartmouth for the third year in a row, with tip-off set for 2 p.m.
Edited by Ryan Eichem
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photos by Stockton Photo
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, TikTok and Bluesky, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.