ATLANTIC CITY -- Perhaps Drew Lavender isn't so injured anymore.
The 5-foot-7 guard hit a pair of big threes to help Xavier turn a 17-14 deficit with 10:56 remaining into a 33-21 lead at the 3:06 mark, and the Musketeers went on to hit the locker room up 35-29.
Dayton shot 10-for-25 from the field (40.0%), including 2-for-8 from three-point range (25.0%) and 8-for-17 from two-point range (47.1%), and 7-for-10 from the free throw loine (70.0%). Three offensive rebounds, 11 defensive rebounds, five assists, nine turnovers, one block, five steals and 12 fouls committed.
That adds up to 35 possessions and 0.819 points per possession.
Xavier shot 10-for-24 from the field (41.7%), including 5-for-11 from three-point range (45.5%) and 5-for-13 from two-point range (38.5%), and 10-for-14 from the free throw line (41.7%). Four offensive rebounds, 13 defensive rebounds, five assists, eight turnovers, one block, four steals and eight fouls committed.
That adds up to 34 possesssions and 1.025 points per possession.
Dayton's Marcus Johnson leads all scorers with 13 points on 3-for-3 shooting, including 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Lavender is Xavier's high scorer with nine points, all from beyond the arc.
