Kunkel, Jones Lead No. 19 Musketeers to Senior Day Win Over Butler

Saturday, March 4

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

23-8,15-5Big East

Butler

14-17,6-14Big East

Butler

Xavier

Kunkel, Jones Lead No. 19 Musketeers to Senior Day Win Over Butler

03.04.23 | Men's Basketball

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Xavier defeated the Bulldogs, 78-66, on Saturday night at Cintas Center

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 19 Xavier men's basketball defeated Butler, 78-66, on Saturday night at Cintas Center. The Musketeers moved to 23-8 (15-5 BIG EAST) on the year, while the Bulldogs dropped to 14-17 (6-14 BIG EAST).

Xavier recognized three seniors prior to tip-off: Souley Boum, Adam Kunkel and Jack Nunge.

The Musketeers led for the first 28 minutes of the game before the Bulldogs took their only lead of the contest, 50-48, on a basket from Jayden Taylor. Xavier responded with a 12-2 run on 3-for-3 shooting, taking an eight-point lead (60-52) with 8:44 left in regulation.

Xavier led by as many as 13 points (69-56) with 5:06 left in the game and led by nine or more points for the remainder of the contest, pulling away for the 78-66 win.

NOTABLES

Colby Jones led four Musketeers in double figures with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting. The junior guard now has eight 20-point games this season. Jones added a game-high eight rebounds to go along with four assists and one steal.
Adam Kunkel finished with 18 points on 5-for-12 shooting. He was also 6-for-6 from the foul line. The senior guard added four rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Souley Boum chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Jack Nunge finished with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting to go along with four rebounds. Jerome Hunter posted nine points and five rebounds.
Xavier finished the game with a .538 field-goal percentage (28-for-52) and was 4-for-12 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were also 18-for-27 from the foul line.
Xavier won the battle on the glass, 37-20, and scored nine more second-chance points (15-6). Butler held a 17-10 advantage in bench points and scored four more points off of turnovers (13-9). Xavier also scored eight more fastbreak points (14-6).

UP NEXT

Xavier opens BIG EAST Tournament action on Thursday, March 9 vs the winner of the No. 7 seed Seton Hall/No. 10 seed DePaul game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Madison Square Garden with the game being aired nationally on FS1.

HIGHLIGHTS