Souley Boum scored 17 points to lead Xavier to a 79-59 rout of visiting Southern Tuesday night in Cincinnati.
Zach Freemantle added 15 points and eight rebounds while Jack Nunge chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds for Xavier (8-3), which won its fourth straight.
Colby Jones was the fourth Musketeer in double figures with 10 points. Boum also played a big role in the balanced offense with seven assists and only one turnover.
Xavier’s defense, which has been spotty at times early in the season, held Southern to 36.2 percent shooting while forcing 20 turnovers.
Southern (4-6) was led by star forward Brion Whitley, who scored 17 points in the loss.
Whitley single-handedly kept the Jaguars in the game in the first half with a team-high 12 points in the opening nine minutes. But he took an elbow to the mouth on a drive to the basket by Cesare Edwards.
Whitley’s basket with 11:36 remaining in the first half cut Xavier’s lead to 19-15. From that point, with Whitley in the locker room receiving attention, Xavier took control of the game.
The Musketeers scored the next 12 points as part of a 19-4 spurt that gave them a 38-19 lead. Xavier made it 40-24 at halftime thanks to 13 points from Boum.
Whitley re-entered the game to start the second half, but he couldn’t slow down the Xavier onslaught. The Musketeers opened on a 13-5 run to open a 53-29 lead. Xavier built its lead to as many as 30 points before the game was finished by reserves from both teams.
Xavier opens Big East play on Friday night with a road contest against Georgetown.
–Field Level Media
