Men's Basketball Opens 2023-24 Season with 77-63 Win Over Robert Morris

Monday, November 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

8:00 p.m.

Xavier University

1-0,0-0Big East

Robert Morris

0-1,0-0Horizon

Robert Morris

Xavier

Men's Basketball Opens 2023-24 Season with 77-63 Win Over Robert Morris

11.06.23 | Men's Basketball

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Desmond Claude leads five Musketeers in double figures with career-high 25 points

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - A career-high scoring output from Desmond Claude led five Musketeers in double figures as Xavier took the 77-63 win over Robert Morris to open the season at Cintas Center on Monday evening.

Robert Morris made the opening basket and led by as many as five in the first 10 minutes, before an 11-0 Xavier run put the Musketeers in front for good. Xavier led by as many as 11 before the half before the Colonials outscored Xavier 11-2 over a three minute stretch to get within four, before going into the half with Xavier ahead by six, 39-33.

Desmond Claude had 11 first-half points to lead the Musketeers. Quincy Olivari, Abou Ousmane and Gytis Nemeikša each had eight in the first 20 minutes of action.

The Musketeers remained in control in the second half, maintaining a two-possession advantage for the remainder of the game. Robert Morris would get as close as six in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Xavier outscored the Colonials 16-4 to take a 19-point lead with under seven minute remaining. RMU would put together a 9-0 run to get as close as 10 in the final five minutes but the Musketeers made the final two buckets of the game to win 77-63.

Claude added 14 second half points to lead Xavier and finish with a career-best 25 points.

NOTABLES

Desmond Claude led all scorers with a career-high 25 points, topping his previous career high of 12, set on 3/1/2023 at Providence. Claude shot 10-17 from the floor with a pair of made threes.
Gytis Nemeikša had a double-double in his Xavier debut, scoring 10 points and leading Xavier with 12 rebounds.
Quincy Olivari finished with 13 points, going 2-of-3 from three.
Abou Ousmane added 11 for the Musketeers, going 5-of-8 from the floor. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Dayvion McKnight hit double figures in his Xavier debut, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. He also led Xavier with five assists.
The Musketeers shot over 57 percent from the floor.
Xavier finished with a 37-29 advantage on the boards.
With the win, Xavier has now won 34 straight regular season openers, including all 24 at Cintas Center.