No. 13 Xavier men's basketball held off No. 19 UConn on the road to take the 82-79 win and the regular season sweep of the Huskies at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday evening. The Musketeers moved to 17-4 overall and 9-1 in BIG EAST play with the win.
Xavier jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first four minutes and pushed the lead out to as many as 17 before going into the half up 15, 39-24. The Musketeers shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, connecting on 5-of-11 threes.
UConn used 50 percent second-half shooting, including 9-of-15 from beyond the arc, to climb back into the game, getting as close as one, 57-56, less than 10 minutes in the second half. A 10-0 Xavier run pushed the lead back to double digits before the Huskies outscored Xavier 13-4 over the next four games to make it a one-possession game in the final minutes. UConn would get within one, in the final seconds before a pair of Souley Boum free throws set the final score at 82-79.
NOTABLES
- Souly Boum led Xavier with 21 points after scoring 16 in the second half, going 4-of-6 from three and 4-of-4 from the free throw line after halftime.
- Colby Jones finished with 20 after leading Xavier in the first half with 10. Jones connected on three three-pointers.
- Jack Nunge finished with 12 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
- Jerome Hunter added 11, going 5-of-6 from the floor.
- The Musketeers shot 53 percent for the game, going 10-of-20 from three.
- Xavier never trailed the Huskies after jumping out to a 9-0 lead.
- UConn had a 34-29 advantage on the boards.
UP NEXT
The Musketeers remain on the road, heading to Creighton to take on the Bluejays on Saturday, January 28, set for a 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
