Macura and Bluiett lead No. 5 Xavier past Butler, 86-79

Tuesday, January 2

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

15-1,3-0BIGEAST

Butler

12-4,2-1BIGEAST

Butler

Xavier

Macura and Bluiett lead No. 5 Xavier past Butler, 86-79

01.02.18 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Season Stat (PDF)Photos Postgame Notes (PDF)Box Score (PDF)

Musketeers stay undefeated in BIG EAST play

By: Isabel Hamilton, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – No. 5 Xavier defeated Butler at Cintas Center in front of a crowd of 10,609 to improve its home record to 11-0 for the season. Trevon Bluiett led Xavier with 21 points and seven rebounds, while going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Xavier moved to 15-1 for the season and moved to 3-0 in BIG EAST play, while Butler dropped to 12-4 for the season and 2-1 in BIG EAST play.

FIRST HALF

The Musketeers opened the game on an 8-2 run, off of a three by Trevon Bluiett, a jumper and-one by Quentin Goodin, and two free throws by J.P. Macura.
Xavier led 20-16 at the 12-minute-mark after Macura made a layup and a three-pointer to score five points in a row.
The home team went on a 7-0 run off of another three by Macura, a layup by Sean O'Mara, and a jumper by Naji Marshall to make the score 24-16 at the 11:20 mark.
Both teams traded baskets for most of the remaining half until Xavier went on a 7-0 run with 2:38 left and ended the half with a 44-36 lead.
J.P. Macura led the Musketeers with 15 points, while Trevon Bluiett contributed 10 points in the first half.
Xavier out-rebounded Butler, 26-20, with Tyrique Jones pulling down five boards.
The Musketeers' largest lead at the half came at the nine-minute-mark where they led 29-20.

SECOND HALF

Butler and Xavier came out of the half trading baskets, with each team scoring seven points at the first media timeout, making the score 51-43. The Musketeers got on the board with a layup from Goodin, a basket by Bluiett and a three by Kaiser Gates.
Xavier reached a 12-point lead at the 13:57 mark with a three-pointer from Macura. Butler got the lead down to 61-52 by going on a 4-0 run, but five points in a row by Kaiser Gates extended the Musketeer's lead to 66-52 with 9:30 left.
The Bulldogs went on a 14-6 run to make the score 72-66 at the 3:42 mark. The rest of the game both teams traded baskets and the closest Butler came to the Musketeers was at the :40 mark where they pulled within five points, but Xavier finished on top, 86-79.
Xavier's largest lead of the game came at the 9:37 mark of the half when they led by 14 points.
Trevon Bluiett scored 11 points during the half, with Kaiser Gates adding 10 points.

NOTABLES

Five Musketeers finished in double figures, with Trevon Bluiett scoring 21 points, J.P. Macura scoring 20 points, Quentin Goodin scoring 12 points, Kaiser Gates scoring 11 points and Sean O'Mara scoring 10 points.
Xavier shot 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc and they held Butler to 41.2 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from behind the line.
The Musketeer's bench provided a spark by scoring 18 points, while the Bulldog's bench only scored nine points.
Xavier out-rebounded Butler, 47-42, with Tyrique Jones leading the team with nine rebounds, while Bluiett grabbed seven.