BOX SCORE

https://goxavier.com/documents/2023/1/11/2190226.PDF

CINCINNATI – No. 12 Xavier men’s basketball remained unbeaten in BIG EAST play on Wednesday night, defeating RV Creighton, 90-87, at Cintas Center. The Musketeers improved to 14-3 (6-0 BIG EAST), while the Bluejays dropped to 9-8 (3-3 BIG EAST).

The game featured 13 ties and five lead changes. Trailing 70-64 with 8:55 left in the game, the Musketeers went on a 16-3 run to take a seven-point lead (80-73).

Xavier led by seven points (86-79) with 1:31 left in the game before the Bluejays battled back to get within one point (88-87) with two seconds on the clock. Souley Boum sank two free throws in the closing seconds to give Xavier the three-point victory.

On the final play of the game, Jack Nunge block the Creighton inbound pass to run out the clock and hold the Bluejays without a game-tying three point attempt.

NOTABLES

Souley Boum scored a game-high 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting. The guard added a game-high eight assists to go along with five rebounds and one steal. The Oakland, Calif., native has scored 20 or more points in eight games this season, increasing his season scoring average to 17.7 points per game.

• Colby Jones added 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting, his third game of the year with 20 or more points. The guard added four rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. 

• Jack Nunge posted his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. He was 5-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the foul line. The forward added three assists, two blocks and one steal.

• Zach Freemantle scored five points and pulled down 10 rebounds, his seventh game of the season with 10 or more rebounds. The forward added five assists, one block and one steal.

• Adam Kunkel finished with seven points, four rebounds and two assists. Desmond Claude added five points, two rebounds and one assist.

• Jerome Hunter scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting in 21 minutes of action off the bench. The forward added three rebounds and one steals. He now has four double-figure scoring games this season.

• Xavier hit 50 percent (34-for-68) of its shot attempts and went 8-for-19 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were also 14-for-21 from the foul line.

• Xavier held a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points and scored 14 more bench points (17-3). The Bluejays scored one more point off of turnovers (13-12) and held a 15-6 advantage in fastbreak points. Creighton also scored six more points in the paint (38-32).

• Xavier has now scored over 90 or more points in a game five times this season. The Musketeers also finished the game with 22 assists, the team’s 11th game of the year with 20 or more assists.

COURTESY XAVIER ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS