Miss State
CINCINNATI, Ohio (11/12/2026) — Tru Washington posted 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists as the Xavier Musketeers pulled away from the Mississippi State Bulldogs 81-63 on Thursday night at Colonial Hall, with Xavier's balanced attack and superior three-point shooting controlling the contest from wire to wire in front of 1,020 fans.
How It Happened
Mississippi State drew first blood when ND Okafor converted a layup off a Josh Hubbard pass just 29 seconds in, staking the Bulldogs to a 2-0 lead. Xavier answered quickly. Washington drained a 24-foot three-pointer at the 18:20 mark to close within one, then struck again 74 seconds later with a driving layup at 17:06 to give the Musketeers their first lead at 5-4 — an advantage they never surrendered.
Xavier steadily extended the margin through the first half. Ruben Dominguez connected from 23 feet to push the lead to 21-14, and the Musketeers continued to find rhythm from deep as Chance Westry and Kalek House each added three-pointers late in the half. Gabriel Pozzato delivered the knockout blow to the first half, nailing back-to-back long-range makes in the final three minutes — the second from 24 feet with 18 seconds remaining, followed by a free throw — to send Xavier into the locker room ahead 41-31.
The second half brought no relief for Mississippi State. Washington opened the period with another 24-foot three at 18:52 to push the lead to 11. Jovan Milicevic then connected from 24 feet at 17:03, assisted by Washington, to stretch it to 51-36. After Nikos Chitikoudis hammered home a one-foot dunk off a House feed, Mike Nwoko sealed the outcome at 12:27 with a thunderous alley-oop slam — also off a House assist — that made it 59-41 with more than 12 minutes remaining.
Milicevic added a 26-foot three at 8:21 to push the advantage to 17, and the Musketeers coasted home from there.
Turning Point
The critical sequence arrived in the dying minutes of the first half, when Gabriel Pozzato turned a manageable Mississippi State deficit into a double-digit hole. With the Musketeers ahead 31-27, Pozzato connected from 23 feet off a House assist at 2:37, then converted again from 24 feet with 18 seconds left — this time on a Chitikoudis dish — before adding a free throw to give Xavier a 41-31 edge at the break. Six points in the final three minutes transformed a competitive game into a hole the Bulldogs never seriously threatened to climb out of.
Star of the Game
Tru Washington was the driving force behind Xavier's offense from the opening minutes. The guard's 21-point, eight-rebound, four-assist performance set the tone early and kept Mississippi State's defense off-balance all night. Washington scored Xavier's first five points, draining long-range jumpers and attacking the lane with equal effectiveness. His playmaking proved equally impactful — he found House for the Pozzato three and assisted Milicevic on two second-half threes — giving the Musketeers a secondary dimension that the Bulldogs had no answer for.
What It Means
For Xavier, this performance announces a deep and versatile offensive unit capable of distributing scoring across multiple contributors. Washington led the way, but Milicevic (12 points), Chitikoudis (11 points), and Pozzato (9 points, three three-pointers) all made significant contributions, forcing defenses to account for threats at every position. The Musketeers shot 43% from three-point range and limited Mississippi State to a difficult 14% clip from beyond the arc — a 29-point differential in three-point efficiency that largely told the story of the night.
Mississippi State fell short in this early-season test, shooting 33% from the field overall while committing 18 turnovers. Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 12 points and three assists, and RJ Johnson contributed 11, but the Mississippi State offense lacked the cohesion necessary to generate consistent looks against a Xavier defense that forced mistakes throughout. The Bulldogs will look to regroup as the young season continues.
