Adam Kunkel's 25 Points Leads No. 22 Xavier to 87-72 Win at Butler

Friday, January 7

Indianapolis, Ind.

8:30 p.m.

Xavier University

12-2,2-1Big East

Butler

8-6,1-2Big East

Xavier

Butler

Adam Kunkel's 25 Points Leads No. 22 Xavier to 87-72 Win at Butler

01.07.22 | Men's Basketball

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Kunkel led four Musketeers in double figures

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

INDIANAPOLIS - Adam Kunkel scored 18 second half points on the way to a 25-point performance, leading the No. 22 Xavier Musketeers to a 87-72 win over Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday evening.

Three other Musketeers hit double figures, with Paul Scruggs scoring 16, Jerome Hunter adding 12 and Zach Freemantle finishing with 10 as the Musketeer built a first half lead to take an 11-point advantage into halftime. The Bulldogs would get within six in the second half before the Musketeers pushed the lead back out to as many as 16 before setting the final score at 87-72. Xavier moves to 12-2 on the season and 2-1 in BIG EAST play.

FIRST HALF

The Musketeers and Bulldogs traded the during the first four minutes before Xavier used a 7-2 run to move ahead five, 14-9, withe 13 minutes remaining.
Butler would pull within two, 17-15, before back-to-back threes from Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter started a 12-2 run to go ahead by double digits, leading 29-17 with just under seven minutes remaining before halftime.
Xavier would lead by as many as 13 before a 6-0 Butler run pulled the Bulldogs within seven, 38-31, with less than two minutes remaining.
Xavier scored the final four points of the half to go into the locker room up 11, 42-31.
Zach Freemantle led the Musketeers with 10 points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor.
Paul Scruggs finished the first half 3-of-4 from the floor with four rebounds and three assists.
Colby Jones grabbed five rebounds to lead Xavier to a 12-11 advantage on the boards in the first half.
Xavier shot 60.7 percent from the floor in the first half, including 6-of-11 from three. The Bulldogs shots 50 percent from the floor but only 1-of-9 from three.

SECOND HALF

In the early minutes of the second half, Xavier extended its lead to 13 before Butler scored seven straight to pull within six, 46-40, with 16:22 to play.
Xavier responded with a 5-0 run, capped by an Adam Kunkel three pointer that started an 18-point second half for the senior guard.
Butler would battle to get the Xavier lead under double digits into the final minutes until a 7-3 Xavier run pushed advantage back to 13, 77-64, with just over two minutes to play.
Xavier connected on 10 free throws in the final two minutes to lead by as many as 16 before winning by 15, 87-72.
Kunkel connected 5-of-7 shots from the floor, including three outside shots, to score 18 in the second half.
Paul Scruggs added eight points, going 8-of-8 at the free throw line.
Butler shot 50 percent from the floor, connecting on four outside shots, while the Musketeers shot 47.6 from the floor, also making four threes. But the Musketeers went 21-of-25 from the free throw line to help secure the win.

NOTABLES

Adam Kunkel finished with a game-high 25 points, just one off his career high of 26 set earlier this season. Kunkel went 8-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three.
Paul Scruggs added 16 points, going 9-of-9 from the free throw line, and dished out a game-high six assists.
Jerome Hunter added 12, connecting on 2-of-3 threes.
Zach Freemantle finished with 10 after leading the Musketeers in the first half.
Xavier shot 55.1 (27-49) percent from the floor overall and 45.5 (10-22) from three.
The Musketeers finished with a 28-24 advantage on the boards, led by seven each for Scruggs and Colby Jones.
Xavier finished with a season-low six turnovers.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers return to Cintas Center for the next match-up, hosting Villanova on Wednesday, January 12. Tip-off with the Wildcats is set for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.

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