DTROIT
XAVIER
Xavier puts revamped defense to test against Detroit Mercy
One week into the college basketball season, Xavier Musketeers ranks 30th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com.
That surely is a breath of fresh air for Richard Pitino and his program, one year after they ranked 10th in the 11-team Big East in scoring defense (80.6 ppg).
The Musketeers will try to put another strong defensive performance together while tightening other areas when they welcome Detroit Titans Mercy on Tuesday night in Cincinnati.
Xavier (2-0) followed a 97-52 opening-night blowout of Mount St. Mary's with a 76-53 win over Eastern Michigan on Friday. The Musketeers recovered from a slow start and held the Eagles to 27.6% shooting from the floor while creating 22 turnovers.
"This team is so opposite of last year. Polar opposites," Pitino said. "We could be a really good defensive team. We're a better rebounding team than we showed (against Eastern Michigan)."
The Musketeers lost the overall rebounding battle by six to the Eagles and allowed 18 offensive rebounds.
"Give them credit, I thought they were relentless on the glass, but we were getting stops and just not finishing possessions," Pitino added.
All 10 Xavier players who saw the court scored at least three points, with six players scoring eight or more. Chance Westry (13) led the Musketeers off the bench for the second straight game.
Italian forward Gabriel Pozzato added four steals in 16 minutes. Xavier has averaged 14 steals per game this season, tied for seventh in the nation.
Detroit Mercy (0-1), meanwhile, will try to prove it can do better than its 93-32 season-opening loss at Marquette.
Detroit Mercy reached the Horizon League championship game last spring and returned a number of key contributors, including Tyler Spratt (eight points vs. Marquette), Ayden Carter (seven) and Lance Stone (five). But against a strong Marquette team, the Titans shot just 13 of 59 (22%) from the field and lost 20 turnovers.
"We have enough pieces," Detroit Mercy coach Mark Montgomery said at Horizon League media day. "We have depth, and I think as the season goes on, the more experience all those players get will make us even better."
--Field Level Media
Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Field Level Media. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Field Level Media is strictly prohibited.
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 |  | End of period | ||
| 0:01 |  | Je'kel Cotton defensive rebound | ||
| 0:02 | | Filip Borovicanin misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:13 | | +2 | Greg Grays Jr. makes two point layup (Jordan Briggs assists) | 20-43 |
| 0:41 | | +2 | Chance Westry makes two point dunk (Jovan Milicevic assists) | 18-43 |
| 0:44 | | Kalek House defensive rebound | ||
| 0:46 | | Kalek House blocks Jordan Briggs's two point jump shot | ||
| 0:53 | | London Maiden defensive rebound | ||
| 0:55 | | Jovan Milicevic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:05 | | Filip Borovicanin defensive rebound | ||
| 1:05 | | Greg Grays Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 1:05 | | +1 | Greg Grays Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 18-41 |
| 1:05 | | Filip Borovicanin personal foul (Greg Grays Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 1:14 | | Kalek House turnover (lost ball) (Je'kel Cotton steals) | ||
| 1:19 | | Jordan Briggs turnover (lost ball) (Kalek House steals) | ||
| 1:32 | | +2 | Kason Westphal makes two point hook shot (Jovan Milicevic assists) | 17-41 |
| 1:52 | | Je'kel Cotton turnover (out of bounds) | ||
| 2:17 | | +2 | Mike Nwoko makes two point dunk (Chance Westry assists) | 17-39 |
| 2:23 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe turnover (bad pass) (Gabriel Pozzato steals) | ||
| 2:37 | | +2 | Gabriel Pozzato makes two point layup (Mike Nwoko assists) | 17-37 |
| 2:45 | | Chance Westry defensive rebound | ||
| 2:47 | | Ayden Carter misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:16 | | TV timeout | ||
| 3:16 | | Mike Nwoko turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 3:16 | | Mike Nwoko offensive foul | ||
| 3:26 | | Rolyns Aligbe defensive rebound | ||
| 3:28 | | Tyler Spratt misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:49 | | Dante Favor defensive rebound | ||
| 3:51 | | Rolyns Aligbe misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:57 | | Rolyns Aligbe defensive rebound | ||
| 3:59 | | Ayden Carter misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:09 | | Rolyns Aligbe turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 4:09 | | Rolyns Aligbe offensive foul | ||
| 4:18 | | +2 | Jordan Briggs makes two point jump shot | 17-35 |
| 4:24 | | Nikos Chitikoudis personal foul | ||
| 4:33 | | +1 | Tru Washington makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 15-35 |
| 4:33 | | Lance Stone shooting foul (Tru Washington draws the foul) | ||
| 4:33 | | +2 | Tru Washington makes two point jump shot (Rolyns Aligbe assists) | 15-34 |
| 4:37 | | Lance Stone turnover (bad pass) (Rolyns Aligbe steals) | ||
| 4:53 | | +2 | Gabriel Pozzato makes two point layup (Tru Washington assists) | 15-32 |
| 4:55 | | Tru Washington defensive rebound | ||
| 4:57 | | Greg Grays Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:13 | | +1 | Tru Washington makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-30 |
| 5:13 | | +1 | Tru Washington makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-29 |
| 5:13 | | Lance Stone personal foul (Tru Washington draws the foul) | ||
| 5:20 | | +3 | Greg Grays Jr. makes three point jump shot (Lance Stone assists) | 15-28 |
| 5:29 | | +3 | Rubén Dominguez makes three point jump shot (Rolyns Aligbe assists) | 12-28 |
| 5:47 | | London Maiden turnover (bad pass) (Rubén Dominguez steals) | ||
| 6:09 | | London Maiden defensive rebound | ||
| 6:11 | | Tru Washington misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:28 | | Musketeers 30 second timeout | ||
| 6:31 | | +3 | Greg Grays Jr. makes three point jump shot (Lance Stone assists) | 12-25 |
| 6:49 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe defensive rebound | ||
| 6:51 | | Jovan Milicevic misses two point jump shot | ||
| 6:59 | | Jovan Milicevic defensive rebound | ||
| 7:01 | | James Martin misses two point layup | ||
| 7:05 | | James Martin defensive rebound | ||
| 7:07 | | Filip Borovicanin misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:15 | | Nikos Chitikoudis defensive rebound | ||
| 7:17 | | Lance Stone misses two point hook shot | ||
| 7:44 | | Titans defensive rebound | ||
| 7:44 | | Nikos Chitikoudis misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 7:44 | | TV timeout | ||
| 7:44 | | London Maiden personal foul (Nikos Chitikoudis draws the foul) | ||
| 7:44 | | Nikos Chitikoudis defensive rebound | ||
| 7:46 | | London Maiden misses two point layup | ||
| 8:10 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe defensive rebound | ||
| 8:12 | | Jovan Milicevic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:20 | | Nikos Chitikoudis defensive rebound | ||
| 8:22 | | Greg Grays Jr. misses two point layup | ||
| 8:41 | | +1 | Lance Stone makes technical free throw 2 of 2 | 9-25 |
| 8:41 | | +1 | Lance Stone makes technical free throw 1 of 2 | 8-25 |
| 8:41 | | Mike Nwoko technical foul | ||
| 8:46 | | Filip Borovicanin turnover (bad pass) (Xavier Istomin-Monroe steals) | ||
| 9:03 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe personal foul | ||
| 9:03 | | Musketeers defensive rebound | ||
| 9:05 | | Lance Stone misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:08 | | Rubén Dominguez personal foul (Xavier Istomin-Monroe draws the foul) | ||
| 9:11 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe offensive rebound | ||
| 9:13 | | Chance Houser misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:23 | | +2 | Mike Nwoko makes two point alley-oop layup (Jovan Milicevic assists) | 7-25 |
| 9:41 | | Musketeers 30 second timeout | ||
| 9:43 | | Mike Nwoko defensive rebound | ||
| 9:45 | | Tyler Spratt misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:13 | | Tyler Spratt defensive rebound | ||
| 10:15 | | Filip Borovicanin misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:23 | | Tyler Spratt personal foul | ||
| 10:28 | | +2 | Tyler Spratt makes two point jump shot | 7-23 |
| 10:34 | | Tru Washington turnover (bad pass) (Tyler Spratt steals) | ||
| 10:34 | | Tru Washington defensive rebound | ||
| 10:42 | | Chance Houser misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:55 | | Tru Washington turnover (lost ball) (Jordan Briggs steals) | ||
| 10:55 | | Tru Washington offensive rebound | ||
| 10:55 | | Tru Washington misses two point layup | ||
| 11:06 | | Tru Washington defensive rebound | ||
| 11:08 | | Tyler Spratt misses two point jump shot | ||
| 11:17 | | Chance Houser defensive rebound | ||
| 11:19 | | Mike Nwoko misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:28 | | Mike Nwoko defensive rebound | ||
| 11:30 | | Tyler Spratt misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:46 | | +1 | Chance Westry makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 5-23 |
| 11:46 | | +1 | Chance Westry makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5-22 |
| 11:46 | | TV timeout | ||
| 11:46 | | Ayden Carter shooting foul (Chance Westry draws the foul) | ||
| 11:57 | | Tyler Spratt turnover (lost ball) (Gabriel Pozzato steals) | ||
| 12:15 | | Jordan Briggs defensive rebound | ||
| 12:17 | | Chance Westry misses three point jump shot | ||
| 12:19 | | Musketeers offensive rebound | ||
| 12:21 | | Je'kel Cotton blocks Chance Westry's two point layup | ||
| 12:30 | | Nikos Chitikoudis defensive rebound | ||
| 12:32 | | Je'kel Cotton misses three point jump shot | ||
| 12:49 | | London Maiden defensive rebound | ||
| 12:49 | | Kalek House misses regular free throw 3 of 3 | ||
| 12:49 | | Kalek House misses regular free throw 2 of 3 | ||
| 12:49 | | Kalek House misses regular free throw 1 of 3 | ||
| 12:49 | | Elías Pálsson shooting foul (Kalek House draws the foul) | ||
| 12:58 | | Rolyns Aligbe defensive rebound | ||
| 13:00 | | Elías Pálsson misses two point layup | ||
| 13:17 | | +2 | Gabriel Pozzato makes two point jump shot (Nikos Chitikoudis assists) | 5-21 |
| 13:29 | | +1 | Dante Favor makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 5-19 |
| 13:29 | | +1 | Dante Favor makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 4-19 |
| 13:29 | | Rolyns Aligbe shooting foul (Dante Favor draws the foul) | ||
| 13:57 | | +3 | Kalek House makes three point jump shot | 3-19 |
| 14:08 | | Nikos Chitikoudis defensive rebound | ||
| 14:10 | | Dante Favor misses two point layup | ||
| 14:15 | | Jordan Briggs defensive rebound | ||
| 14:17 | | Rolyns Aligbe misses three point jump shot | ||
| 14:29 | | Elías Pálsson personal foul | ||
| 14:35 | | Nikos Chitikoudis defensive rebound | ||
| 14:37 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe misses two point jump shot | ||
| 14:56 | | Tyler Spratt defensive rebound | ||
| 14:58 | | Rubén Dominguez misses three point jump shot | ||
| 15:05 | | Nikos Chitikoudis defensive rebound | ||
| 15:07 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe misses two point jump shot | ||
| 15:18 | | TV timeout | ||
| 15:18 | | Filip Borovicanin personal foul (Tyler Spratt draws the foul) | ||
| 15:30 | | Filip Borovicanin turnover (lost ball) (Tyler Spratt steals) | ||
| 15:38 | | Nikos Chitikoudis defensive rebound | ||
| 15:40 | | Lance Stone misses two point jump shot | ||
| 15:52 | | Filip Borovicanin turnover (bad pass) (London Maiden steals) | ||
| 15:57 | | Tru Washington defensive rebound | ||
| 15:59 | | Tyler Spratt misses two point jump shot | ||
| 16:04 | | Nikos Chitikoudis personal foul (London Maiden draws the foul) | ||
| 16:14 | | +1 | Mike Nwoko makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 3-16 |
| 16:14 | | Mike Nwoko misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 16:14 | | Ayden Carter shooting foul (Mike Nwoko draws the foul) | ||
| 16:17 | | Filip Borovicanin defensive rebound | ||
| 16:19 | | Ayden Carter misses three point jump shot | ||
| 16:29 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe defensive rebound | ||
| 16:31 | | Tru Washington misses two point layup | ||
| 16:40 | | Tru Washington offensive rebound | ||
| 16:42 | | Tru Washington misses two point layup | ||
| 16:46 | | Tyler Spratt turnover (lost ball) (Tru Washington steals) | ||
| 17:02 | | +3 | Rubén Dominguez makes three point jump shot (Filip Borovicanin assists) | 3-15 |
| 17:11 | | Filip Borovicanin defensive rebound | ||
| 17:13 | | Ayden Carter misses two point layup | ||
| 17:22 | | Ayden Carter defensive rebound | ||
| 17:24 | | Tru Washington misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:33 | | Mike Nwoko defensive rebound | ||
| 17:35 | | Lance Stone misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:59 | | +2 | Mike Nwoko makes two point layup (Rubén Dominguez assists) | 3-12 |
| 18:13 | | +3 | Tyler Spratt makes three point jump shot (Xavier Istomin-Monroe assists) | 3-10 |
| 18:29 | | Titans 30 second timeout | ||
| 18:31 | | +3 | Tru Washington makes three point jump shot | 0-10 |
| 18:39 | | Lance Stone turnover (lost ball) (Tru Washington steals) | ||
| 18:51 | | +2 | Mike Nwoko makes two point layup (Jovan Milicevic assists) | 0-7 |
| 18:56 | | Ayden Carter turnover (bad pass) (Jovan Milicevic steals) | ||
| 19:19 | | +3 | Jovan Milicevic makes three point jump shot (Tru Washington assists) | 0-5 |
| 19:30 | | Filip Borovicanin defensive rebound | ||
| 19:32 | | Ayden Carter misses two point layup | ||
| 19:49 | | +2 | Filip Borovicanin makes two point layup (Mike Nwoko assists) | 0-2 |
| 20:00 | | Xavier Istomin-Monroe vs. Mike Nwoko (Jovan Milicevic gains possession) |
Key Players
| Min. Per Game | ||
| Pts. Per Game | ||
| Ast. Per Game | ||
| Reb. Per Game | ||
| Field Goal % | ||
| Three Point % | ||
| Free Throw % |
|
Je'kel Cotton defensive rebound | 0:01 |
|
Filip Borovicanin misses three point jump shot | 0:02 |
| |
+ 2 | Greg Grays Jr. makes two point layup (Jordan Briggs assists) | 0:13 |
| |
+ 2 | Chance Westry makes two point dunk (Jovan Milicevic assists) | 0:41 |
|
Kalek House defensive rebound | 0:44 |
|
Kalek House blocks Jordan Briggs's two point jump shot | 0:46 |
|
London Maiden defensive rebound | 0:53 |
|
Jovan Milicevic misses three point jump shot | 0:55 |
|
Filip Borovicanin defensive rebound | 1:05 |
|
Greg Grays Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | 1:05 |
| |
+ 1 | Greg Grays Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 1:05 |
| Team Stats | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 43 |
| Field Goals | 6-32 (18.8%) | 16-33 (48.5%) |
| 3-Pointers | 3-14 (21.4%) | 5-17 (29.4%) |
| Free Throws | 5-6 (83.3%) | 6-11 (54.5%) |
| Total Rebounds | 17 | 29 |
| Offensive | 1 | 2 |
| Defensive | 15 | 25 |
| Team | 1 | 2 |
| Assists | 4 | 14 |
| Steals | 6 | 8 |
| Blocks | 1 | 1 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 8 |
| Fouls | 9 | 9 |
| Technicals | 0 | 1 |
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| Key Players | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
00
|
. Grays Jr. G | 0.0 PPG | 3.0 RPG | 0.0 APG | 0.0 FG% |
|
00
|
. Nwoko F | 9.5 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 2.0 APG | 64.3 FG% |
| Top Scorers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G. Grays Jr. G | 9 PTS | 0 REB | 0 AST | ||
| M. Nwoko F | 9 PTS | 3 REB | 2 AST | ||
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| T. Spratt | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2/7 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| L. Stone | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0/4 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Maiden | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| X. Istomin-Monroe | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| A. Carter | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/5 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| T. Spratt | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2/7 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| L. Stone | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0/4 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Maiden | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| X. Istomin-Monroe | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| A. Carter | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/5 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| G. Grays Jr. | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D. Favor | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Briggs | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Cotton | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Martin | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C. Houser | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| E. Palsson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T. Owens | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| V. Semerych | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K. Aldridge Jr. | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 20 | 16 | 4 | 6/32 | 3/14 | 5/6 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 15 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| M. Nwoko | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4/5 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| T. Washington | 8 | 6 | 2 | 2/7 | 1/3 | 3/3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| R. Dominguez | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Milicevic | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1/4 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| F. Borovicanin | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1/4 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| M. Nwoko | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4/5 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| T. Washington | 8 | 6 | 2 | 2/7 | 1/3 | 3/3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| R. Dominguez | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Milicevic | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1/4 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| F. Borovicanin | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1/4 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| G. Pozzato | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C. Westry | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K. House | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K. Westphal | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| N. Chitikoudis | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R. Aligbe | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| M. Wolf | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| H. Thole | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| A. Elson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| G. Basson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| H. Aligbe | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 43 | 27 | 14 | 16/33 | 5/17 | 6/11 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 25 |