Led by Roddie Anderson III’s 28 points and five 3-pointers, host Xavier pulled away in the second half for a 96-74 win over Saint Francis on Monday night in Cincinnati.

Anderson made 10 of his 16 shots from the field while dishing out a game-high seven assists. The Musketeers, who have won four of their last five, finished with 23 assists to just eight turnovers while going 10 of 32 from beyond the arc.

Xavier scored 52 of its 96 points in the second half, shooting 55.3% from the field, outrebounding Saint Francis 21-15 and dishing 14 assists to just five turnovers. It wasn’t pretty in the first half, but Xavier muscled its way to a 44-33 halftime lead.

The Musketeers (6-3) missed several shots close to the rim and had several other shots rim out, going just 3-of-16 from beyond the arc and shooting just 43.6% from the field overall.

Xavier’s Tre Carroll scraped his way to 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first 20 minutes, with Anderson right behind him with 12 first-half points. The Musketeers scored 26 points in the paint and made 7 of 9 free-throw attempts.

Coming off its first win, Saint Francis (1-7) stayed within striking distance through the first 10 minutes and cut its deficit to 24-20 with nine minutes to play. Zion Russell led the Red Flash with 11 points and six rebounds in the first half, knocking down two of their four 3-point attempts. Russell finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Skylar Wicks led the Red Flash with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Red Flash had 21 assists on 27 made field goals, but 15 turnovers led to 19 Musketeers’ points. Saint Francis shot 44.3% from the field and made 8 of 22 3-point attempts.

Xavier found a much more cohesive rhythm early in the second half, knocking down 10 of its first 17 shots. Seven of those 10 made field goals assisted in stretching the host’s lead to 67-47 with 12:23 remaining.

Anderson made four of his five 3-pointers in the second half, with Xavier hitting 7 of 16 3-point attempts.

–Field Level Media