After a 20-day layoff, the most important thing to come out of Xavier's trip to Butler on Saturday night was a win.
It even looked as if the most recent COVID layoff wouldn't be too much of an issue as the Musketeers opened up a 20-point lead on the Bulldogs early in the second half at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
But, as that lead evaporated when Butler went on a 13-0 run, the Musketeers turned to their senior leader down the stretch, and sensing his team needed him, Paul Scruggs willed Xavier to a 68-55 win that lifts the Musketeers to 11-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big East Conference.
There was no conversation or instruction required to get the job done. All Scruggs needed was the moment.
"He knows ... Paul knows when it's go time," Xavier head coach Travis Steele said in his post-game press conference. "I think he has a pretty good feel for those moments."
More:Xavier returns to team activities after a second COVID-19 pause, but future still uncertain
When Xavier's 47-27 lead shrunk to 54-50 with 6:53 left, it was Scruggs, playing back in his hometown, who steadied the ship with a quick 5-0 run by himself.
"This is a game of runs. We just gotta go out there and stay poised," Scruggs said he told his teammates. "I just let them see me make smart choices and let them see me be under control out there ... and it just bleeds over to the whole team."
Scruggs finished with a game-high 24 points, 13 of which came in the game's final 9:16. He added seven rebounds and three assists. At one point, Scruggs scored 11 straight points for a Xavier offense that started red hot but hit a wall in the second half.
There was even a basket where Scruggs grabbed his own rebound after a missed shot and went back up between two Butler defenders, made the shot, drew a foul, and completed the three-point play at the foul line to extend Xavier's lead to 59-50 with 5:37 to play.
"I thought Paul played like a first-team all-conference player tonight," said Steele. "... His whole mentality, his attitude, refusing to lose."
When the game was over, Scruggs sat at the post-game podium with a smile.
He didn't say much. He usually doesn't. Probably because he likes to let his play do the talking, but it was hard to avoid the fact that for the last three weeks, basketball didn't really exist for Scruggs or his teammates as they dealt with their own COVID-19 issues and then their opponents' COVID-19 issues.
Scruggs was asked what it was like to be back out there again.
"I loved every bit of it," he said. "Especially playing with my teammates. They have great energy and I just love being around them."
Scruggs wasn't alone in the fight on Saturday. He had some help.
With freshman Colby Jones in COVID-19 protocol and unavailable to play, transfer Adam Kunkel earned his first career start and made the most of the opportunity.
Kunkel scored 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting with three 3-pointers. Nate Johnson, who's quietly performing like one of the best shooters in college basketball, went 4 for 6 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points.
For a team that just took three weeks off, the Musketeers led Butler for more than 39 minutes. It's not the toughest test Xavier will see this season, but they found a way to pass it and earned another important win.
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