When previewing Xavier's matchup with Oakland, Musketeers' head coach Sean Miller called the Golden Grizzlies a "dangerous team" and one that is seemingly always going to "beat somebody in November or December."

On Monday night at Cintas Center, Miller's forecast came to fruition as Oakland delivered Xavier a brutal non-conference blow, 78-76 at Cintas Center.

Oakland had an answer every time Xavier captured any momentum. The Musketeers' biggest lead was when it was 69-66 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. Xavier had battled back from down eight, but Oakland responded with a 12-7 run to finish the game.

"We were overwhelmed in the last couple minutes," Miller said. "You could feel the last 3-4 minutes, not only did we not handle the game like we needed to, but it came unraveled."

The Golden Grizzlies were led by forward Trey Townsend, who came up huge for Oakland in crunch time. The four-year starter began with an offensive rebound and a three-point play to tie it 66-66. He later hit three contested field goals in a four-possession span to finish with a game-high 28 points.

"That was one of the best performances I've seen against a team I've coached," Miller said of Townsend's 28 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

'Admiration for him': Dayvion McKnight shines for Xavier after death of older brother

'We had a lot of excitement': Xavier football played its last game 50 years ago today

Xavier can't find the knockout punch

Down the stretch, Xavier looked like an inexperienced team that struggled to handle the pressure. The Musketeers missed multiple block-outs, committed ill-advised turnovers and didn't close out on Oakland's top shooter, Jack Gohlke, who hit an uncontested 3-pointer. Xavier's three-point lead evaporated in just 54 seconds and the Musketeers trailed the rest of the way.

"Our quality of play and inability to do the fundamental things when it mattered most, you could call it a learning experience, but it's really why the game got away from us in the end," Miller said.

'Punched in the mouth.'

The frontcourt was expected to be a weak point of Xavier's defense this season with two forwards out for the year. Monday exposed that as Oakland punished the Musketeers for 38 points in the paint (24 in the first half) and Xavier big men Sasa Ciani and Abou Ousmane each had four fouls.

"We needed to get punched in the mouth like this, knowing that if we don't block out from the beginning, then we will get beat," Ousmane said. "This is just gonna make us stronger as a team."

Oakland matches Xavier blow-for-blow in first half

Xavier's opponents entered Monday night shooting just 37% from the field against the Musketeers this season. Oakland didn't get the memo as the Golden Grizzlies came out of the gates with the hot hand, shooting at a 54.8% clip. Oakland took advantage of Xavier's inexperience in the frontcourt, punishing the Musketeers for 24 first-half points in the paint. Oakland was 14-of-20 in the first half from inside the arc.

Townsend, an All-Horizon League selection last season, led the way with 16 at the break on 6-of-9 shooting as Oakland continued to feed the 6-foot-6 forward. Xavier used a four-man rotation against Townsend, but to little success. Desmond Claude made it hard on him, but Townsend was too clutch in the end, knocking down tough shots with a hand in his face to seal it.

"I thought Des (Claude) of all the guys, did the best job," Miller said. "As a coach, you always want to look at it and ask, 'did you give your team the best chance to win?' I can say tonight, the answer to that is no."

Trey Green provides a spark off the bench

After a back-and-forth five-minute stretch to start the night, Oakland jumped out to a 17-9 lead behind Chris Conway, who finished with 15 points (6-of-8 shooting). Miller went to his bench after the under-16 media timeout and freshman Trey Green made an immediate impact by draining a deep 3-pointer to jumpstart a 9-2 run, forcing a turnover and feeding Ousmane for a bunny.

Oakland pushed its lead to 31-25 before Green, who entered the game 6-of-26 from downtown, connected again from the perimeter. Green finished with nine points on a trio of triples. Claude had a team-high 24 points while Quincy Olivari (11) and Ousmane (12) were in double figures. Offensively, Miller said he thought Xavier did enough to win, playing with 19 assists against just 10 turnovers.

Free-throw shooting, which has hampered the Musketeers' offense this season, was a saving grace in a first half where Xavier shot just 46.2%. Xavier was 13-of-16 at the charity stripe in the first half.

Xavier finished 23-of-30 at the line but missed the front end on a pair of 1-and-1 opportunities in the final six minutes of regulation.

What's next?

Xavier has its second AP Top 5 matchup of the young season when it hosts undefeated No. 6 Houston (7-0) at Cintas Center on Friday, Dec. 1 in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier vs. Oakland basketball: Musketeers fall to Golden Grizzlies