Despite being without leading scorer Naji Marshall (ankle), the Xavier Musketeers won their fifth game of their last six Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati, defeating the St. John’s Red Storm, 81-68.
The Musketeers pulled to 9-9 in conference play and have now finished .500 or better in conference play 37 straight years, the longest active streak in the NCAA.
Marshall’s absence caused other players to step up. Paul Scruggs capped off his second collegiate regular season with a game-high 22 points, while Ryan Welage came out of nowhere for a 19-point outburst on senior day.