Souley Boum scored six points in the final minute and Jack Nunge notched a double-double as No. 12 Xavier edged No. 25 Marquette 80-76 on Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati.
Boum hit a go-ahead jumper with 46 seconds left and added four free throws down the stretch to help the Musketeers (15-3, 7-0 Big East) claim their 11th straight win.
Boum finished with 16 points, as did Nunge, who also hauled in 13 rebounds. Colby Jones chipped in 13 points for Xavier, which had six players score in double figures.
Tyler Kolek led the Golden Eagles (14-5, 6-2) with 25 points and seven assists on 11-of-18 shooting. Oso Ighodaro added 14 points and eight rebounds and Kam Jones supplied 12 points for Marquette, which had a five-game winning streak snapped.
After Chase Ross threw down a ferocious dunk to tie things at 68-68, Boum nailed a 3-pointer to give the Musketeers the lead with 3:11 left.
Nunge extended the lead with a free throw, but David Joplin hit a deep jumper and Ighodaro made a baby hook to even things at 72 with just over a minute left before Boum took over.
A 7-2 outburst to begin the second half put Xavier on top, giving it a 51-50 edge. Colby Jones’ 3-pointer and Jerome Hunter’s layup later pushed the Musketeers’ lead to four, but a trey from Joplin and a pair of baskets from Ighodaro established a three-point Marquette lead with 12:06 to play.
Kolek erupted for 20 points through the first 20 minutes of action to send the Golden Eagles into the break with a 48-44 lead.
Marquette had gone up by seven — the largest lead of the first half — with 5:28 left in the period when Olivier-Maxence Prosper converted a layup, but Xavier made it a two-possession game by intermission with the help of two late buckets from Hunter.
Kam Jones wasted no time getting his offense going, scoring eight points to headline the Golden Eagles’ 10-2 game-opening run. The Musketeers answered shortly afterward with a 14-1 surge, claiming a four-point advantage with 11:20 left in the first half.
–Field Level Media
