Bluiett Buries Blue Demons

Tuesday, January 12

6:30 P.M.

Xavier University

15-1, 3-1

DePaul University

6-11, 0-5

DePaul

Xavier

01.12.16 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Bluiett, Gates set new career marks as Musketeers move to 15-1

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – A career-night from Trevon Bluiett led the No. 7/8 Xavier Musketeers to an 84-64 win over the DePaul Blue Demons on Tuesday night at Cintas Center. The win moves the Musketeers to 15-1 on the season and 3-1 in BIG EAST Conference play, and elevates head coach Chris Mack into sole-possession of second in Xavier's all-time coaching ranks with 149 wins.

Bluiett finished with 24 points, hitting five 3-pointers and shooting 50 percent from the field. His total topped a previous career-high of 22 set against Wright State on December 8, 2015 and marked the highest scoring game by a Musketeer player since Matt Stainbrook posted a 26-point game against Creighton on March 7, 2015.

Myles Davis added 14 points, shooting 60 percent from beyond the arc. J.P Macura finished with 13 points. Kaiser Gates' 11 points set a new careeer-high, topping his previous best of 10 set against Butler on Jan. 2, 2016.

DePaul took a 5-0 lead to open the game before back-to-back threes for Bluiett gave Xavier its first advantage. Bluiett scored the first nine points for the Musketeers, who moved out to a 12-8 lead with just over four minutes gone from the game.

A 12-0 run by the Musketeers – capped off by a pair of threes from Bluiett – extended the Xavier lead to 18-8 at the 13:34 mark.

Xavier led by as many as 12 in the first half, using a 12-0 run to take a 28-16 lead with 6:45 remaining. DePaul responded with a 12-3 run of its own, closing to within three, 31-28, with less than three minutes remaining before the half.

The Musketeers answered right back with a 10-3 run, however, to take a 41-31 lead into the half.

Bluiett went into the break with a game-high 19 points after hitting 4-of-4 from outside to open the game. Davis added 10 first half points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Musketeers were matched on the boards in the first half, 19-19, and paced by Remy Abell's four.

Xavier scored seven straight out of halftime, extending its run from the end of the first half to 14-0 and taking a 17-point lead at 48-31. The run forced DePaul to take a timeout less than two minutes into the second half.

Macura put up 11 points in the first four minutes of the second half, helping Xavier extend its lead out to 18, 54-36.

The Blue Demons would get as close as 14 before a personal 8-0 run for Kaiser Gates pushed the lead out to 22, 62-40, with 11 minutes to play.

Xavier led by as many 26 down the stretch, taking a 75-49 advantage with seven minutes remaining after Bluiett scored five straight to surpass his previous career high.

Xavier finished with a 39-35 advantage on the boards, led by seven for Jalen Reynolds. The Musketeers forced 14 turnovers, turning the DePaul miscues into 22 points, compared to just eight points off of turnovers for the Blue Demons.

Xavier heads to Milwaukee for its next matchup, taking on Marquette on Saturday, Jan. 16 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Golden Eagles and Musketeers are set for a 2:00 p.m ET tip on FOX Sports 1.