No. 15/14 Xavier Battles Back Late but Falls at No. 12/13 Butler

Saturday, January 14

Indianapolis, Ind.

2 p.m.

Xavier University

13-4, 3-2BE

Butler

15-3, 4-2BE

Xavier

Butler

No. 15/14 Xavier Battles Back Late but Falls at No. 12/13 Butler

01.14.17 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)

Sumner led with 22 points, all scored in the second half

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

INDIANAPOLIS – No. 15/14 Xavier continued a tough BIG EAST road stretch on Saturday, falling to No. 12/13 Butler, 83-78 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Four Musketeers hit double figures in a down-to-the-wire battle as Xavier moved to 13-4 overall and 3-2 in BIG EAST play.

NOTABLE

Edmond Sumner posted a game-high 22 points, all scored in the second half. In the final 20 minutes, he shot 5-of-7 from the floor and 12-13 at the line to keep the Musketeers within striking distance down the stretch.

J.P. Macura finished with 16 points after an 11-point second half, going 4-of-8 from outside for the game.

Malcolm Bernard matched his Xavier career high in points with 10 and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds to lead the Musketeers.

Trevon Bluiett was the fourth Musketeer to finish in double figures, scoring 10 points.

The Musketeers shot 48.9 percent from the floor to 46 percent for the Bulldogs, but BU grabbed 31 rebounds to 29 for Xavier.

Xavier owned a slight, 8-7 advantage on offensive rebounds but turned those second chances into 12 points to just two second chance points for BU.

After owning an advantage on turnovers and points off of turnovers in the first half, Xavier finished with 16 miscues that turned into 21 points for the Bulldogs.

FIRST HALF

Xavier hit five of its first 10 shots, scoring eight points in the paint, led by five for RaShid Gaston, to take a five-point lead early, going ahead 11-6 at the 14:33 mark.

The Musketeers never trailed in the first 13 minutes of the game, holding onto a lead or a tie until the seven-minute mark, when the Bulldogs took the 20-18 lead.

After falling behind for the first time in the game, Xavier responded with an 11-0 run, keyed by five points for Macura. The spurt gave Xavier its largest lead of the game, 29-20 with just over three minutes to play in the half before going into the break up 31-25.

Gaston, Bluiett and Bernard each posted seven points in the first half to lead the Musketeers. Xavier hit 10-of-21 shots from the floor.

Butler held the 19-15 advantage on the boards in the first period, with Bluiett's four rebounds leading the way for XU.

BU had seven turnovers to five for Xavier in the first half. The Musketeers turned the Bulldog miscues into 10 points to just five points off turnovers for Butler.

SECOND HALF

Butler opened the second half by continuing its run from the end of the end of the first, scoring 12 unanswered to retake the lead, extending out to a 34-31, less than four minute into the second half.

A Macura three ended the BU run, tying the game at 34-34. Xavier and Butler exchanged leads until a 9-2 run for the Bulldogs put the Musketeers behind eight, 53-45, with under 10 to play.

Butler led by as many as nine in the final seven minutes of the game, but the Musketeers, led by Sumner, chipped away at the lead, with six points from Sumner helping to cut BU advantage down three, 66-63, with over four minute to play.

The Bulldog lead pushed back out to eight, 72-64, with 2:18 to play, but an 8-1 Xavier lead cut the deficit to one with less than a minute to play, but the Bulldogs went 10-10 from the free throw line in the closing seconds to secure the 83-78 win.

Sumner finished with 22 second half points and Macura added 11 in the final period.

Sean O'Mara added five of six points in the second half, shooting 2-of-2 from the floor as the Musketeers hit on 50 percent of their field goals for the half.

Xavier owned a 14-12 advantage on the boards in the second half, led by five for Bernard and four rebounds off the offensive glass for Gaston.

UP NEXT

Xavier has a short turnaround before hosting No. 8 Creighton at Cintas Center on Monday, Jan. 16. The Musketeers and Bluejays are set for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off as game two of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day marathon on FS1.

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