No. 12 Xavier's streak at 11 with win vs No. 25 Marquette
AP
Jan 15, 2023
CINCINNATI (AP) Souley Boum and Jack Nunge each scored 16 points and No. 12 Xavier Musketeers won its 11th straight game with a 80-76 victory over No. 25 Marquette Golden Eagles on Sunday.
The final few seconds were close, with Olivier-Maxence Prosper making a jumper to cut Xavier's lead to 78-76 with 8 seconds left. Boum then hit two free throws to seal the victory as the Musketeers went 6-for-6 from the line in the final 28 seconds.
''That's how I've been my whole life, I like being in those moments,'' said Boum, who scored nine points in the final three minutes, including going 4-for-4 from the line. ''I practice those free throws all the time, so I'm not scared of it. I just have to do my job to make sure my team leaves the building with a victory.''
''He's so accurate as a shooter,'' Xavier coach Sean Miller said. ''He's got a repertoire that so few guards have. He's so confident from the line. It's not like he's at the line early in the game. We're talking about, make the free throws to win it.''
Six players scored in double figures for Xavier (15-3, 7-0 Big East), which is off to its best start ever in Big East play. The Musketeers' winning streak is their longest since starting the 2015-16 season 12-0. Nunge had 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double this season and second straight.
Tyler Kolek scored 25 points and Oso Ighodaro had 14 for Marquette (14-5, 6-2 Big East), which snapped a five-game winning streak. Kolek who averages eight assists per game, dished out seven.
After a wild first half that saw a 92 combined points scored, the second half was a grind.
The Musketeers had no answer in the first half for Kolek, who had 20 points on 9 of 11 shooting and four assists. Marquette led 48-44 at halftime.
The defenses - and perhaps some fatigue - showed up late in the second half with both teams going scoreless for more than six minutes. A steal and dunk by Marquette guard Chase Ross tied the score 68-68 with 3:31 remaining. But Boum answered with a 3-pointer to put the Musketeers ahead to set up a frantic finish.
''It's always tough coming in here,'' Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. ''With 45 seconds left, it's a tie game. Xavier had the ball in their leading scorer's hands. He made tough shots. Lot of things that we'll look at on the tape that we need to improve on.''
BIG ADJUSTMENT
After Kolek's 20-point outburst in the first half for Marquette, the Musketeers adjusted their defense. After halftime, Kolek scored only five points and was 2 of 7 from the field and the Golden Eagles scored only 28 points.
''We kind of let him get to his left hand too much (in the first half) and getting downhill,'' Nunge said. ''We just locked in, switched more. We did a good job in the second half.''
BIG PICTURE
Marquette: The Golden Eagles have been outrebounded 11 times this season and struggled to handle the 7-foot Nunge, ending up getting beat on the boards 45-32 on Sunday and giving up 17 second-chance points to Xavier.
''We knew going into the game they had just two bigs,'' said Nunge, who had 13 rebounds, eight of them offensive. ''We really thought that was an area where we could exploit them. We wanted to make sure we sent three to the glass.''
Xavier: The Musketeers struggled on defense in the first half, allowing 48 points on Sunday - the 16th time it has allowed 40 or more in a half this season. But in the second half, Xavier shut down the Golden Eagles, allowing only 28 points.
''We've been inching toward getting better,'' Miller said. ''Have we gotten better by leaps and bounds? No. We are, in kind of a quiet way behind our offense, getting better here and there.''
UP NEXT
Marquette: Hosts No. 19 Providence on Wednesday.
Xavier: At DePaul on Wednesday.
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1st Half
MARQ
Golden Eagles
48
XAV
Musketeers
44
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Oso Ighodaro vs. Jack Nunge (Colby Jones gains possession)
19:53
+2
Zach Freemantle makes two point jump shot (Souley Boum assists)
0-2
19:41
Tyler Kolek misses three point jump shot
19:39
Zach Freemantle defensive rebound
19:14
Colby Jones misses two point jump shot
19:12
Tyler Kolek defensive rebound
18:53
+3
Kam Jones makes three point jump shot (Stevie Mitchell assists)
3-2
18:43
Souley Boum turnover (bad pass) (Kam Jones steals)
18:25
+2
Olivier-Maxence Prosper makes two point layup (Oso Ighodaro assists)
5-2
17:55
Jack Nunge turnover (lost ball) (Tyler Kolek steals)
17:43
+3
Kam Jones makes three point jump shot
8-2
17:30
Adam Kunkel turnover (traveling)
17:16
Kam Jones misses three point jump shot
17:14
Zach Freemantle defensive rebound
17:14
Olivier-Maxence Prosper personal foul (Zach Freemantle draws the foul)
17:01
Zach Freemantle misses two point layup
16:59
Olivier-Maxence Prosper defensive rebound
16:49
+2
Kam Jones makes two point layup
10-2
16:39
+2
Desmond Claude makes two point layup
10-4
16:29
Zach Freemantle personal foul (Tyler Kolek draws the foul)
16:25
+3
Tyler Kolek makes three point jump shot (Kam Jones assists)
13-4
15:56
+2
Colby Jones makes two point jump shot
13-6
15:43
+2
Oso Ighodaro makes two point layup (Kam Jones assists)
15-6
15:27
+2
Zach Freemantle makes two point layup (Souley Boum assists)
15-8
15:08
Oso Ighodaro misses two point layup
15:06
Jerome Hunter defensive rebound
14:56
Desmond Claude misses two point jump shot
14:54
Zach Freemantle offensive rebound
14:49
+2
Zach Freemantle makes two point layup
15-10
14:33
David Joplin misses three point jump shot
14:31
Zach Freemantle defensive rebound
14:14
Souley Boum misses three point jump shot
14:12
Tyler Kolek defensive rebound
13:56
Tyler Kolek misses two point jump shot
13:54
Zach Freemantle defensive rebound
13:41
+2
Jerome Hunter makes two point layup (Desmond Claude assists)
15-12
13:22
Zach Freemantle shooting foul (David Joplin draws the foul)
13:22
TV timeout
13:22
+1
David Joplin makes regular free throw 1 of 2
16-12
13:22
David Joplin misses regular free throw 2 of 2
13:22
Souley Boum defensive rebound
13:05
+3
Adam Kunkel makes three point jump shot (Jack Nunge assists)
16-15
12:35
Sean Jones misses three point jump shot
12:33
Jack Nunge defensive rebound
12:24
+2
Jerome Hunter makes two point jump shot (Desmond Claude assists)
16-17
12:23
David Joplin shooting foul (Jerome Hunter draws the foul)
12:23
+1
Jerome Hunter makes regular free throw 1 of 1
16-18
12:15
Olivier-Maxence Prosper misses three point jump shot
12:13
Musketeers defensive rebound
12:02
Chase Ross personal foul (Colby Jones draws the foul)
11:55
Ben Gold blocks Jack Nunge's two point jump shot
11:53
Ben Gold defensive rebound
11:42
Ben Gold offensive foul (Colby Jones draws the foul)
11:42
Ben Gold turnover (offensive foul)
11:42
TV timeout
11:32
Ben Gold blocks Adam Kunkel's two point layup
11:30
Jack Nunge offensive rebound
11:22
David Joplin blocks Colby Jones's two point layup
11:20
Jack Nunge offensive rebound
11:20
+2
Jack Nunge makes two point layup
16-20
11:01
Jump ball. (Golden Eagles gains possession)
10:53
+2
Kam Jones makes two point layup (Tyler Kolek assists)
18-20
10:42
KyKy Tandy misses two point layup
10:40
Colby Jones offensive rebound
10:34
+2
Colby Jones makes two point layup
18-22
10:34
Oso Ighodaro shooting foul (Colby Jones draws the foul)
10:34
Colby Jones misses regular free throw 1 of 1
10:34
Oso Ighodaro defensive rebound
10:24
+2
Oso Ighodaro makes two point layup (Tyler Kolek assists)
20-22
10:11
+2
Jack Nunge makes two point hook shot (Souley Boum assists)
20-24
9:57
+3
Tyler Kolek makes three point jump shot (Stevie Mitchell assists)
23-24
9:44
Oso Ighodaro blocks Colby Jones's two point layup
9:42
Musketeers offensive rebound
9:34
Souley Boum misses three point jump shot
9:32
Tyler Kolek defensive rebound
9:19
+2
Oso Ighodaro makes two point hook shot (Kam Jones assists)
25-24
9:07
Adam Kunkel turnover (lost ball) (Olivier-Maxence Prosper steals)
9:01
+2
Olivier-Maxence Prosper makes two point layup (Stevie Mitchell assists)
27-24
8:42
Desmond Claude misses two point layup
8:40
Colby Jones offensive rebound
8:34
Adam Kunkel misses three point jump shot
8:32
Jack Nunge offensive rebound
8:26
+2
Jack Nunge makes two point layup
27-26
8:26
Oso Ighodaro shooting foul (Jack Nunge draws the foul)
8:26
+1
Jack Nunge makes regular free throw 1 of 1
27-27
8:15
+2
Tyler Kolek makes two point jump shot
29-27
7:44
+2
Colby Jones makes two point jump shot (Jerome Hunter assists)
29-29
7:27
+2
Tyler Kolek makes two point layup
31-29
7:06
Colby Jones turnover (lost ball) (Stevie Mitchell steals)
6:54
Kam Jones misses three point jump shot
6:52
Souley Boum defensive rebound
6:48
TV timeout
6:45
Souley Boum misses three point jump shot
6:43
Golden Eagles defensive rebound
6:34
+3
David Joplin makes three point jump shot (Tyler Kolek assists)
34-29
6:10
+2
Souley Boum makes two point jump shot (Zach Freemantle assists)
34-31
5:58
+2
Tyler Kolek makes two point layup (David Joplin assists)
36-31
5:41
Zach Freemantle misses two point jump shot
5:39
Kam Jones defensive rebound
5:33
Jerome Hunter personal foul (Kam Jones draws the foul)
5:29
+2
Olivier-Maxence Prosper makes two point layup (Tyler Kolek assists)