CINCINNATI -- No second-half slump. No. 13 Xavier held on tightly to this lead, right to the finish.J.P. Macura emerged from his shooting slump by scoring 18 points, and RaShid Gaston helped No. 13 Xavier get the edge up front against the nations top rebounding team, leading the Musketeers to a 77-69 victory over Utah on Saturday.The Musketeers (8-2) were coming off back-to-back road losses that featured long scoring droughts in the second half. Xaviers balanced offense built a 15-point lead in the first half, and the Musketeers stayed ahead the rest of the way.Weve dropped two in a row by taking our foot off the gas pedal in the second half, Gaston said . We wanted to keep the pressure on and finish down the stretch.After you take two losses back-to-back, theres not much that needs to be said. You approach it with the right mentality -- by any means necessary, youve got to get the win.Gaston had 11 points and 14 rebounds, helping Xavier to a 33-28 edge on the boards. The Utes (6-2) came in averaging 47.7 rebounds. Gaston had nine points and 10 rebounds -- one less than Utahs total -- in the first half.RaShid has always been tough, said guard Malcolm Bernard, who had 11 points. Hes a bull down there, for real. His offense doesnt get as much credit as it needs to get.Macura was 5 of 7 from beyond the arc after going only 2 of 16 in his last three games. Trevon Bluiett also scored 18 points, hitting all six of his free throws in the final minute as Xavier closed it out.Down the stretch, we just have to be a smarter team, coach Chris Mack said . Maybe we just havent been in that situation enough. Well get better.Freshman Devon Daniels had a career-high 19 points for the Utes , whose two losses have been against ranked Big East teams. They also lost to Butler at home.That was our first true test on the road, coach Larry Krystkowiak said. I had to see how we would respond. We need consistency. We have different guys having good games, but not many back-to-back. It is usually someone different every night.BIG PICTUREUtah: The Utes top two scorers -- Kyle Kuzma and Tyler Rawson -- were a combined 2 of 10 for five points in the first half as Xavier took control. Kuzma finished with 11 points -- his second-lowest total of the season -- and Rawson a season-low three.Xavier: The Musketeers went through long second-half scoring droughts during their losses. Utah opened the second half with an 11-4 spurt but couldnt get any closer.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Musketeers figure to slip in the Top 25 based upon their 68-66 loss at Colorado on Wednesday, but limited the damage with their win on Saturday.BAD LUCK STATEThe Utes fell to 0-5 in the state of Ohio, also losing twice at Ohio State and twice at Cincinnati.NO SLUMPSXavier hasnt lost three in a row since 2013-14, its first season in the Big East.FROM THE LINEXavier shot only 66 percent from the free-throw line in its two losses. The Musketeers all 10 of their free throws in the final minute against Utah and finished 15 of 21.UP NEXTUtah hosts Prairie View A&M next Saturday, and then closes nonconference play the following week in Hawaii as part of the Diamond Head Classic.Xavier plays the first of four straight home games leading into Big East play, hosting Wake Forest next Saturday in the Skip Prosser Classic.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org Sandy Koufax Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. 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MINNEAPOLIS -- During the previous decade, as Minnesota piled up division titles as a spunky overachiever, the organizations ability to produce fundamentally solid players and competitive teams without expensive power hitters or starting pitchers became known around baseball as the Twins Way.Theyve become the wayward Twins these days. Theyre on pace at the All-Star break to pass the club record of 102 losses.Like a lot of people, I dont look at the record too much anymore. Its kind of counterproductive for me, manager Paul Molitor said after historic, horrific first half of the schedule during which the Twins went 27-54.I try not to go down that road. Obviously I hope we have a better half, said Molitor, who in his first year running the team oversaw an 83-79 record that had the Twins in postseason contention until the second-to-last day on the 2015 slate.Having averaged 96 losses over the four years prior to Molitors debut, the 0-9 start this season that didnt get much better throughout April and May looked more like the trend. The optimism-fueling 2015 finish looked more like the outlier.Not where we want to be, said first baseman Joe Mauer, in his usual understated manner.What cant be overstated is the organizations persistent problem procuring and maintaining adequate starting pitching. Twins starters are 19-38 with a 5.26 ERA this season, ahead of only Cincinnati.The backbone of the Twins Way was durable starting pitchers who didnt walk many batters, trusting stout defense behind them to minimize potential damage from pitches to contact. The philosophy was formed around the time manager Tom Kelly took over in 1987, leading the Twins to their first of two World Series titles. There were lean years in the 1990s, but the club was in contention in Kellys last season, 2001, and kept it up under his replacement, Ron Gardenhire. The Twins won the American League Central division six times from 2002 through 2010.Since then, quality starters have simply stopped coming through the farm system.Kyle Gibson, the teams first-round draft pick in 2009, has settled in as a capable middle-of-the-rotation right-hander. Tyler Duffey has shown potential in 24 major league starts. Jose Berrios is waiting in Triple-A. But the dearth of starting pitching has prompted general manager Terry Ryan to dole out close to $200 million in free agent contraacts since he returned to his post nearly five years ago.ddddddddddddErvin Santana has been the best of a mediocre-at-best bunch, a group of five veterans whove combined for 78 victories over the last 4 1/2 seasons.Hopefully weve drafted and are starting to develop some people who are going to emerge in the near future and give us an opportunity to start building a staff where youd say, `All right, theyre going to be around here for a while, Ryan said.This is the sixth straight year that Twins starters have ranked in the bottom five in the majors in strikeouts. The overall struggles have triggered a shift toward development, Ryan said, from innings limits to drafting harder throwers.Less-than-desirable defense hasnt helped the starting pitchers, either, but sometimes theyve been at fault, too. Molitor ordered an early round of pitchers fielding practice before a recent game, the type of fundamental drills rarely seen during a season after spring training.Theres a lot of our game, our Twins baseball, this year that needs cleaning up, Molitor said that night. You can talk about base running and our defense at times. But the plays that are on the mound, our guys make good pitches and we get balls hit in the infield and were having mental lapses about covering bases or where to go backing up bases. It was just kind of my desire to get these guys focusing a little bit more and realize that they have more responsibility than just throwing a pitch. You let your guard down, and its easy to come back and bite you.The Twins have gone 7-3 in July while outscoring opponents a whopping 78-37, including seven games against league-leading Texas. Theyre likely to make some trades this month and next, clearly out of contention for 2016, but Molitor has expressed at least a mild satisfaction in recent progress shown by some of the young players who struggled so badly at the beginning of the season.Questions have been raised about Ryans future, given the ugly record. A new general manager could always make a change on the bench, too, so Molitors return isnt exactly guaranteed. For now, a recalibration toward development has given him a fresh perspective on the second half.Its a great opportunity to teach, Molitor said. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '