The first game of the Richard Pitino era at Xavier was not an artistic piece of work, but it was a win, and the Musketeers will look to make it two in a row when they host Le Moyne on Thursday night in Cincinnati.

The Musketeers (1-0) overcame blowing a 20-point, second-half lead to Marist in their season opener Monday night at home, posting a 66-62 win over the Red Foxes.

Pitino watched nervously as Marist used a 13-0 run to erase a 59-47 deficit and lead by one with 3:22 left. But Jovan Milicevic's three with 1:46 remaining put the Musketeers ahead to stay, 62-60.

"We needed guys to make plays. Jovan was certainly that at the end," Pitino said. "If you can find a way to win a game when it's close like that, there's gonna be so many lessons learned from that game."

Montana transfer Ma

See Full Page