CINCINNATI (AP) Xavier point guard Edmond Sumner has a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.
The sophomore guard had 17 points and seven assists during the Musketeers’ 82-77 victory over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening. He had to be helped off the court by teammates after he got fouled while going up for a layup with 6 minutes left in the game.
An MRI on Monday confirmed that he tore the knee ligament. He’ll have surgery scheduled soon.
”I am devastated for Edmond,” coach Chris Mack said. ”He’s an awesome kid, a fearless competitor and a terrific teammate. I’m going to miss coaching him the rest of the year.”
The injury is a significant blow to the Musketeers (15-6, 5-3 Big East) , who have lost four of their last six games – all against ranked teams, with three of the losses on the road. They dropped out of the Top 25 on Monday, ending a streak of 29 consecutive weeks in the rankings.
Sumner was second on the team in scoring with 15 points per game, trailing Trevon Bluiett ‘s 18.5 per game. Sumner averaged 33 minutes and 4.3 rebounds.
Freshman point guard Quentin Goodin will get a lot more time with Sumner out. Goodin has averaged 14.9 minutes and 3.5 points per game as Sumner’s backup. He had a career-high 16 points on Sunday.
The injury also leaves Xavier more depleted. The Musketeers got senior guard Myles Davis back after he sat out the first semester while a misdemeanor court case was settled, but he ended his career after playing in three games and failing to make a shot.
Sumner had developed into an all-around point guard this season, leading the offense in addition to attacking the basket with his quickness. He averaged five assists per game, up from 3.6 last season.
The 6-foot-6, 186-pound guard has been limited by injuries throughout his career at Xavier. Tendinitis in his knees forced him to sit out the 2014-15 season. As a redshirt freshman, he suffered a concussion from a hard fall to the court in a game at Villanova and sat out the next three games.
This season, he’s been limited by an injured left hand and two injuries to his left shoulder. He wore a brace on the shoulder for the last few games, restricting his range of motion.
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More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org
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