Jack Nunge's 31 Points Lead Xavier to 83-63 Win Over Cincinnati in Skyline Crosstown Shootout

Saturday, December 11

Cincinnati, Ohio

8:30 p.m.

Xavier University

9-1,0-0Big East

Cincinnati

7-3,0-0AAC

Cincinnati

Xavier

Jack Nunge's 31 Points Lead Xavier to 83-63 Win Over Cincinnati in Skyline Crosstown Shootout

12.11.21 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Photos

Nunge sets new career marks for points, rebounds; Paul Scruggs and Adam Kunkel finished in double figures

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - A career performance from Jack Nunge led the Xavier Musketeers to a 83-63 rout of rivals Cincinnati in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout at Cintas Center on Saturday night. Nunge scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, both career-best marks to lead three Musketeers in double figures for the games.

Paul Scruggs finished with 14 points, helping the Musketeers to a fourth win over UC in his Xavier career, and Adam Kunkel added 12 points to help the Musketeers move to 9-1 on the season while Cincinnati dropped to 7-3.

FIRST HALF

Xavier scored the first basket and the teams traded one-possession leads through the first eight minutes, with Jack Nunge's eight points leading the way as Xavier took a 12-11 lead at the 12:20 mark.
An Adam Kunkel three pushed Xavier's lead to four, and the Musketeers used a 12-2 run to extend the lead to nine, 22-13, with nine minutes to play.
UC would get within six in the final minutes of of the first half but another 11-2 run would extend the Xavier lead out to double digits, with the Musketeers leading by as many as 16 before going into halftime with a 15-point lead, 42-27.
Jack Nunge scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and grabbed nine boards as Xavier took a 23-15 advantage on rebounds into the break.
Paul Scruggs added 12 for the Musketeers in the first half.
The Musketeers shot 48.3 percent from the floor while holding Cincinnati to 31.3 percent shooting.
Xavier had 10 assists on 14 made baskets, led by three for Dwon Odom.

SECOND HALF

Jack Nunge scored 11 of Xavier's first 13 points in the second half to push the lead to 20, with the Musketeers extending the lead out to as many as 27 in the second half, 70-43, with 4:44 remaining.
Xavier maintained the at-least 20 point lead for the remainder of the game, with UC scoring the final four points to set the final advantage at 20, 83-63 Xavier.
Nunge finished with 17 second-half points, going 5-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
Colby Jones had eight second half points after going 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Xavier finished with an 18-13 advantage on the boards, led by six for Jack Nunge.
Paul Scruggs led Xavier with three assists and the Musketeers dished out six on 11 made field goals.

NOTABLES

Jack Nunge finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds, both career-best marks. Nunge finished shooting 9-of-14 from the floor, connecting on a pair of threes, and went 11-of-15 from the floor.
Paul Scruggs finished with 14 points, five rebounds and a team-high five assists. Scruggs becomes the first Musketeer in program history to pick up four wins over Cincinnati during their Xavier career.
Adam Kunkel finished with 12 points, connecting on a pair of threes.
Nunge's 15 rebounds led Xavier to a 41- 28 advantage on the boards overall. His 15-rebound performance is the first for the program since Zach Freemantle grabbed 15 boards against UConn on 2-13-2021.
Xavier's bench outscored the Bearcats' bench, 56-20.
Xavier held a 34-22 advantage on points in the paint.
The Musketeers' 20-point margin of victory is the third-largest margin of victory in the series.
10,707 fans attended the Crosstown Shootout, the seventh largest crowd in Cintas Center history.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers wrap up non-conference action on Morehead State on Wednesday, December 15, hosting Morehead State at Cintas Center. The Musketeers and the Eagles are set to play at 8:30 p.m. on FS1.

HIGHLIGHTS