No. 23 Xavier beats Dayton 90-61 for AdvoCare title
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Xavier turned an impressive second-half surge into a championship.
Edmond Sumner had 14 points to help No. 23 Xavier beat Dayton 90-61 on Sunday night in the AdvoCare Invitational title game.
"It was our day today," Xavier coach Chris Mack said.
Trevon Bluiett and Myles Davis had 12 points apiece, and J.P. Macura, Jalen Reynolds and Remy Abel each had 11 for Xavier (7-0).
"This is a great feeling right now, especially getting it against an in-town rival," Davis said. "Our guys came out strong. Dayton is a really good team so we knew we had hands full. This wasn't an easy win whatsoever, but we're just a hungry team. It was so fun out there."
Xavier broke open an eight-point halftime advantage by outscoring Dayton 25-4 during the opening 8 minutes of the second half.
Kendall Pollard led Dayton (5-1) with 15 points, and Scoochie Smith had 13.
"For our guys, it's a learning experience," Dayton coach Archie Miller said. "Haven't sat in a locker room like that for a long time."
James Farr had three straight baskets before Bluiett's layup put Xavier up 57-39 with 14:42 to go. Farr had eight points.
The Musketeers lead grew to 68-39 over the next 3 minutes on 3s by Davis, Abell and Bluiett, and Sean O'Mara's rebound basket.
"They ripped through the tournament," Miller said of Xavier. "They're going to be a contender for a lot of things."
Sumner had 10 points as Xavier, which led by as many as 13, took a 43-35 halftime advantage.
Pollard scored 11 points for Dayton during a foul-filled opening half that saw both teams pick up 14 fouls. He went 7 for 12 from the foul line.
Dayton leads the series with Xavier 85-76. However, Xavier has won 15 of the last 20 meetings.
TIP-INS
Xavier: The Musketeers reached the title game by beating Alabama 64-45 and USC 87-77. ... This is Xavier's first holiday tourney championship since the 2008 Puerto Rico Tipoff. ... The 7-0 start is the second best under Mack. The Musketeers started 2011-12 at 8-0.
Dayton: The Flyers earlier in the invitational beat Iowa 82-77 and Monmouth 73-70. ... Dayton came up short in its bid to start a season with six consecutive wins for the first time since 2008-09.
BIG TURNOUT
The overall tournament attendance of 24,842 set a record. The old mark of 24,267 came in 2008.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
The field for the 2016 AdvoCare Invitational will be Iowa State, Gonzaga, Florida, Miami (Fla.), Indiana State, Seton Hall, Stanford and Quinnipiac. The event will run from Nov. 24-27.
UP NEXT
Xavier: Hosts Western Kentucky on Saturday.
Dayton: Returns home to face North Florida on Saturday.
