Jovan Milicevic tied a career-high by scoring 21 points as Xavier shined from 3-point range and earned a 78-68 victory over West Virginia Sunday in the Charleston Classic’s Palmetto third-place game in Charleston, S.C.
Milicevic, who played for Xavier coach Richard Pitino at New Mexico, matched his career high from Dec. 14, 2024 with the Lobos. He hit 8 of 14 shots, including five 3-pointers for the second straight game, and 15 of his points came after halftime.
Tre Carroll added 12 of his 17 points in the first half when Xavier (4-3) overcame an early eight-point deficit. Carroll and Milicevic were a combined 10-of-14 from 3-point range as Xavier tied a season best by hitting 16 triples on 25 attempts.
All Wright added 14 and Roddie Anderson III contributed 11 for Xavier, which shot 45.5%.
Treysen Eaglestaff paced West Virginia (5-2) with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He was 0-of-5 from behind the arc as the Mountaineers misfired on 16 of 22 3-point tries.
Honor Huff added 16 after going scoreless in the first half and Brenen Lorient contributed 11 as West Virginia shot 43.1% and took its second straight loss.
West Virginia scored seven straight out of a timeout and took a 21-13 lead on a 3 by Jasper Floyd with 10:01 left. Xavier countered with nine straight points and took a 24-23 lead on a 3 by Carroll with 7:04 left. His fourth 3 put Xavier up 27-25 a little more than a minute later.
The Musketeers held West Virginia scoreless for the final 4:05 and held a 36-28 lead by halftime after Filip Borovicanin hit a jumper in the lane with two seconds left.
Two free throws by Anderson with 12:51 to play opened a 53-43 Musketeer lead, and Wright’s triple gave Xavier a 63-52 advantage with 8:43 left.
West Virginia cut it to 69-63 on a jumper by Eaglestaff with 3:56 left, but Borovicanin sank a 3 on the next possession. Xavier finished it off when Milicevic stripped Floyd and coasted in for a layup with 1:45 left to make it 74-63.
