CINCINNATI -- Saturday was another Big East game for Xavier. Another opportunity to add to its postseason resume.
It was another opportunity lost.
The Musketeers have taken advantage of as many chances as they've missed on. That's what made Saturday's 78-70 loss at home to St. John's so difficult to swallow. Xavier had a chance to win its third game in a row for the first time in two months and to go two games over .500 in the conference for the first time this season.
It would have meant a little breathing space for the season, a chance to get over a hump.
Instead the Musketeers fell to 16-10 overall and 7-7 in the league. They ultimately couldn't contain St. John's on the defensive end. Four different St. John's players finished in double figures. Sir' Dominic Pointer scored 24, the second most allowed by Xavier this season. Phil Greene IV had 13 of his 15 points in the second half. D'Angelo Harrison had 13 of his 18 points in the first half.
It was the ninth time this season Xavier has had a game decided by eight points of fewer. The Musketeers are now 1-8 in those games.
"We didn't make the plays we needed to down the stretch, that's sort of been a problem for us in close games," said senior center Matt Stainbrook. "That ultimately was our demise."
They didn't make the plays at the end of either half.
Stainbrook led Xavier with 17 points and nine rebounds. His basket with 5:37 left in the first half gave XU a 31-28 lead. The Red Storm outscored Xavier 12-2 the remainder of the half to take a 40-33 lead. It's the ninth time in the last 11 games the Musketeers have trailed at half. They are now 3-6 in those games.
St. John's outscored Xavier 12-5 over the final five minutes of the game after a Jalen Reynolds three-point play got XU to within one point, 66-65. The Musketeers made just one of their final 10 field goal attempts.
"St. John's, at both the end of the first half and the second half, imposed its will. They were much more athletic and quicker to the ball. Their 11 steals and six blocked shots shows their activity level from an undersized team," said head coach Chris Mack. "It seemed like we were fighting uphill the entire second half but could never get that stop that either tied the game or gave us the lead."
That's a recurring theme to the Xavier season, XU can't get the defensive stops when it needs them.
So the Musketeers will once again have to regroup and shake off a loss that could've been a win. They've got four more league games left, plus that little game with Cincinnati on Wednesday at UC, before the Big East tournament.
They've still got opportunities. What the Musketeers do with them is anyone's guess.
"Every day is a sense of urgency for our staff and our players need to feel it because our backs are against the wall," said Mack. "We've got five games, regular season games, left and we have to win as many as we can."
