NEW YORK CITY – Xavier men’s basketball posted an 89-84 win over DePaul in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Musketeers improve to 24-8 on the year, while the Blue Demons drop to 10-23.

Xavier only led for two minutes and 31 seconds in the game. DePaul led by as many as 13 points (59-46) with 15:10 left in regulation before the Musketeers outscored the Blue Demons, 35-21, over the next 13 minutes of play – taking a one-point lead (81-80).

Xavier never relinquished the lead, going 2-for-2 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the foul line over the final 1:16 to pull away for the five-point win.

X NOTABLES

• Jack Nunge scored a game-high 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting. He also went 3-for-4 from beind the arc and 6-for-6 from the foul line. The forward pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. He now has six, 20-point games this season.
• Colby Jones scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half. The junior guard was 10-for-19 from the floor. He added six rebounds, two assists and a game-high three steals. Jones now has nine, 20-point games this season.
• Souley Boum added 16 points on 4-for-9 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. Adam Kunkel finished with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting. He added two assists. 
• Desmond Claude posted seven points and two rebounds, while Jerome Hunter chipped in five points and two assists.
• Xavier finished the game with a .492 field-goal percentage (30-for-61) and went 9-for-20 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were also 20-for-27 from the foul line.
• Xavier won the battle on the glass, 28-27, and scored eight more points off of turnovers (20-12). Both teams scored six second-chance points and 36 points in the paint. DePaul held a 26-7 advantage in bench points. 
• Xavier moved to 7-0 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal games.

UP NEXT

Xavier will play No. 3 seed Creighton in the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals on Friday, March 10. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. from Madison Square Garden. 

BOX SCORE

COURTESY XAVIER ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS