Xavier 80, UW 70: J.P. Macura, Trevon Bluiett too much for Badgers

MADISON – Seconds after Wisconsin eliminated Xavier from the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago, guard J.P. Macura sat down on the court and appeared stunned that the Musketeers’ season was over.

Macura, now a senior guard, stood tall Thursday night at the Kohl Center and helped take down a Wisconsin team that took the 17th-ranked Musketeers into the final 2 minutes before falling, 80-70.

Macura contributed 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Musketeers (3-0), who have four players back who started at least 13 games on the team that reached the Elite Eight last season.

"It means a lot to me,” said Macura, who celebrated the victory by clapping demonstratively as he walked toward the UW student section. “When we lost in the NCAA Tournament to them it was heartbreaking.

“To come out here and play team basketball and play together and get a win really feels good."

UW (2-1) learned how hard it must compete and how well it must execute against one of the better teams on its schedule.

"It’s a pretty quiet locker room right now," UW coach Greg Gard said. "They wanted to win tonight even though they’re young.

"There’s a lot of guys that this is the first time they’ve stepped into the bright lights, full arena, (in) that type of a game.

"They compete. And I like the way they battled." 

BOX SCORE:Xavier 80, Wisconsin 70

Senior guard Trevon Bluiett, who entered the night averaging 25.5 points per game and shooting 10 of 18 from three-point range (55.6%) and 17 of 26 overall (65.4%), led Xavier with 25 points.

Bluiett scored 21 in the second half, six of which came on critical back-to-back three-pointers in the final 2 minutes to give Xavier a 72-66 lead. He added four free throws for 10 of his 25 points in the final 1 minute 45 seconds.

“I just felt like in the first half I was sped up a little bit," said Bluiett. "My teammates were telling me to slow down. I just listened to them and calmed down in the second half."

Tyrique Jones and Kaiser Gates added 11 points apiece for Xavier which had a 36-26 edge in points in the paint and hit 20 of 23 free-throw attempts. 

"Here is the thing," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "Two minutes left in the game, it’s a tie game. And for us, we have a little bit more experience right now.

"Guys like J.P. and Trevon have been around college basketball for a long, long time. Wisconsin’s got some younger guards that will get better because of this.

"I think the last two minutes was experience vs. youth."

Ethan Happ surpassed the 1,000-point mark at UW and finished with 21 points, eight assists and four rebounds. He hit 7 of 10 free-throw attempts.

Guard Brevin Pritzl added 13 points and freshman guard Brad Davison added 12, including 11 in the first half that helped UW forge a 34-34 tie.

That trio combined to hit 16 of 33 shots. The rest of the team was a combined 9 of 28. UW hit 13 of 21 free-throw attempts and 7 of 24 three-point attempts.

D’Mitrik Trice added nine points but hit only 4 of 14 shots. Khalil Iverson added eight for UW.

Xavier's biggest lead in the first half was 28-19 but sparked by Davison, UW battled back to forge a 34-34 halftime tie.

Xavier led by seven, 61-54, with 6:55 left but Happ scored on back-to-back drives and passed to Aleem Ford (six points) for a three-pointer in a 10-3 UW run. 

Trice gave UW a 66-64 lead with 2:42 left on a feed from Happ but Bluiett hit two free throws and then hit the consecutive three-pointers in a span of 40 seconds to give the Musketeers a 72-66 lead with 1:05 left.

Davison drove baseline after Bluiett's first three-pointer but lost the ball. 

"I should have jump-stopped and kicked out or finished," Davison said.

Bluiett got free in the corner for another three-pointer to push the lead to 72-66, and UW was out of comebacks.

“I feel like a coach but I’m just really proud of the guys, to be honest," Happ said. "I’m really proud of how we responded. We got down a couple times and came right back, got stops. 

"It is a game of inches and they made more plays down the stretch but I’m really proud of how our team played tonight."

Gard wants to see what the players learn and how they respond to the loss.

"This is good for our guys," he said. "This is a great experience. Now what we do with it, what they do with it, will show how fast we can grow and mature from it."