By Ryan Ottiger, Staff Writer

Last Saturday, Cintas Center hosted one of the most dramatic endings of a college basketball game this year. 

In a matchup against the DePaul University Blue Demons, Xavier had an 18-point second-half deficit and eventually came all the way back to win on a Filip Borovicanin buzzer beater. 

In the first 30 minutes of the game, the Musketeers looked flat and lifeless. Shots were not falling and quality offensive possessions were hard to come by. DePaul was playing excellent defense, getting solid shot opportunities offensively, while still taking Xavier out of their transition play and offensive flow. The energy levels in Cintas were far lower than usual and some Musketeer fans were even starting to boo; the game seemed like it was all but over.

However, with just about 10 minutes to go in the game, the Musketeers started trimming the lead piece by piece. They were getting to the free-throw line more often, forcing difficult shots for DePaul and firing up all of the fans in the crowd. Tre Carroll, Malik Messina-Moore and Filip Borovicanin were all instrumental in cutting the lead. Isaiah Walker also played a key role in the comeback by grabbing multiple offensive rebounds and giving the team much-needed energy with hustle plays in the final stretch.

DePaul’s lead was eventually just one point with a minute left in the game, which eventually was fully erased with a Xavier score to put the Musketeers up 64-63. With only 20 seconds left, madness began to unfold. 

Borovicanin made a mid-range jumpshot to extend Xavier’s lead to 66-63. DePaul pushed the ball with less than 15 seconds to play, with Blue Demon star CJ Gunn converting on a game-tying three with only nine seconds in the game. The Musketeers acted quick, immediately inbounding the ball to Borovicanin where he dribbled down the court and eventually rose up to hit a spinning fadeaway jump shot at the buzzer to win the game and complete the comeback for Xavier. Cintas Center erupted and a swarm of Musketeers surrounded Borovicanin.

Borovicanin finished with 16 points, Messina-Moore finished with 13 and Carroll with 21. Tre Carroll now leads the Big East Conference in points per game at 18.3, with five consecutive 20+ point games while averaging an astounding 26.4 during this stretch.

Beyond the excitement that immediately came with the game-winning buzzer beater, this win kept Xavier out of catastrophic Big East territory. This keeps them at sixth place in the conference, still allowing them to have a fighting chance at a March Madness spot.