Musketeers Upend Pirates, 74-54, in BIG EAST Home Opener

Saturday, December 23

Cincinnati, Ohio

2:00 p.m.

Xavier University

7-6,1-1Big East

Seton Hall

8-5,1-1Big East

Seton Hall

Xavier

Musketeers Upend Pirates, 74-54, in BIG EAST Home Opener

12.23.23 | Men's Basketball

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Xavier made a season high 10 three-pointers on Saturday afternoon at Cintas Center

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's basketball knocked down a season-high 10 three pointers on Saturday afternoon en route to a 20-point victory (74-54) over Seton Hall in the team's BIG EAST home opener.

The Musketeers improve to 7-6 (1-1 BIG EAST), while the Pirates drop to 8-5 (1-1 BIG EAST).

The opening half featured four lead changes and two ties. Seton Hall closed within three points (22-19) on a pair of free throws by Elijah Hutchins-Everett with 5:36 left on clock before Xavier responded with a 10-2 run, taking its first double-figure lead of the game (32-21). Kadary Richmond scored four unanswered points to close the half, getting the Pirates within seven points (32-25).

The Pirates closed within one point, 43-42, on an Al-Amir Dawes basket with 13:06 left in regulation before the Musketeers scored 14 unanswered points to take a 15-point advantage (57-42).

Xavier never relinquished the double-figure lead and led by as many as 22 points (74-52) on a Quincy Olivari three pointer with 1:17 left in regulation. The Musketeers outscored the Pirates, 42-29, in the second half behind a .500 field-goal percentage (17-for-34), while going 8-for-15 from behind the arc.

NOTABLES

Quincy Olivari scored a game-high 29 points on 11-for-20, his fifth game of the season with 20 or more points. The guard was also 5-for-11 from behind the arc, his third game of the season with five or more made three pointers. The Atlanta, Ga., native added seven rebounds and one assist.
Abou Ousmane posted his second double-double of the season, scoring a season-high 16 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. The forward was 8-for-14 from the floor. He added a game-high five blocks (matched his career high in the category) to go along with three steals and two assists.
Dayvion McKnight posted his first double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and dishing out a season-high 10 assists. The guard was 6-for-15 from the floor and 3-for-5 from behind the arc. He added four rebounds.
Desmond Claude chipped in four points, four rebounds and five assists. Trey Green added six points, two assists and three steals in 14 minutes of action off the bench.
Xavier dished out 25 assists, the team's fourth game of the year with 20 or more assists. Both teams pulled down 45 rebounds in the contest.
Xavier held a 16-2 advantage in fastbreak points and scored four more points in the pain (36-32). The Musketeers also scored one more (14-13) point off of turnovers and held a 10-8 advantage in bench points. Seton Hall scored seven more second-chance points (21-14).
Xavier finished the game with a .443 field-goal percentage (31-for-70) and went 10-for-20 from three-point range. The Musketeers were 2-for-5 from the foul line.
The Musketeers held the Pirates to a season-low .324 field-goal percentage (22-for-68). Seton Hall was also held to a season-low two 3-pointers (2-for-15).

UP NEXT

Xavier returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at Villanova. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m. from Finneran Pavilion with the game being aired nationally on FS1.

HIGHLIGHTS