Xavier rallies for 82-69 win over IUPUI in Steele's debut

Nov 7, 2018, 04:12 am

CINCINNATI -- Newcomer Ryan Welage scored 21 of his 24 points in the second half on Tuesday night, and Xavier blew an 18-point lead before rallying for an 82-69 victory over IUPUI in Travis Steele's debut as the Musketeers coach.

Welage had 12 points during a 15-6 spurt after IUPUI (0-1) took its only lead early in the second half. The graduate student from San Jose State went 6 of 13 from beyond the arc.

Slimmed-down forward Tyrique Jones added 17 points and six rebounds for Xavier (1-0).

The Musketeers got their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season, got upset in the second round, and lost five of their top seven scorers , including Trevon Bluiett. Chris Mack went to Louisville, and Steele -- his top assistant -- was hired as Xavier's 18th coach.

Junior point guard Quentin Goodin didn't dress for the game. He's still recovering from a right shoulder injured in practice a few weeks ago. Goodin is Xavier's top returning scorer and had started 52 consecutive games, including all 35 last season.

Jones lost more than 20 pounds in the offseason to get quicker. The 6-foot-9 forward had two steals and dunks , and he scored 10 points as Xavier pulled out to a 35-17 lead. Camron Justice scored nine of the Jaguars' first 17 points but was ejected for tripping Zach Hankins as he ran up the court with 6:29 left in the first half.

The Jaguars pulled ahead 42-40 on Jaylen Minnett's 3-pointer early in the second half. Minnett finished with 21 points.

BIG PICTURE

IUPUI: The Jaguars were picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League with only three starters returning: Evan Hall, D.J. McCall and Nick Rogers. IUPUI has three transfer students including Justice, who spent two years at Vanderbilt.

Xavier: With so many new players in the lineup and Goodin on the bench, the Musketeers were out of sync on offense until Welage started hitting from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT

IUPUI: Hosts Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

Xavier: Hosts Evansville on Saturday.

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