Any apprehension regarding a potential hangover after Wednesday's emotional overtime win dissipated quickly on Saturday evening inside Cintas Center as Xavier's men's basketball team throttled St. John's from start to finish, 96-71.
Xavier's now 19-5 overall, is still tied at the top of the Big East Conference with Marquette at 11-2.
"I just like the fact that we were completely ready for the game," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "We were ready at the beginning of the second half, came out of halftime supercharged, playing with force, playing defense, playing offense. Thought the same thing in the first eight minutes of the game. We really set the tone."
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In its second game without starter Zach Freemantle, the Musketeers moved like a river after a rain storm.
There was nothing St. John's could do to slow Xavier down.
A quick 7-0 run to start the game snowballed into a flurry of efficiency at both ends of the floor.
The ball moved on offense and found the open man.
On defense, the Musketeers were contesting shots and working together in a way they really haven't done for 40 consecutive minutes this season.
Xavier went 15-of-28 from 3-point range. The 15 3-pointers were a season-high, tied for the fifth-most all-time in a game.
Xavier had 26 assists on 32 made field goals and the Musketeers only turned the ball over 11 times.
"We shared the ball. A lot of different players played well," said Miller.
Jack Nunge led the way with 21 points (4-for-5 from beyond the arc) and six assists.
"Jack had six assists and two turnovers. A lot of times that's what you want out of your point guard. I think one of the things we do well is our forwards, our big guys are also unselfish and they can pass."
Colby Jones added 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting with eight rebounds and four assists.
Souley Boum had 17 points and set the tone early in the second half, piling on a 49-30 halftime lead with three quick 3-pointers after the break.
Desmond Claude went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and finished with 11 points in 29 minutes of action.
"I've been saying this over the last couple months that there will come a time when (Claude) will become comfortable shooting 3-point shots in a game and that time is now," said Miller.
And Jerome Hunter continued to play with a purpose. He had 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, and he played a team-high 32 minutes.
"I thought Jerome played an outstanding game again. He just does his job, plays to win, plays exceptionally hard," said Miller.
Outside of the complete performance, capping a 2-0 week for Xavier since it was announced that Freemantle would miss a month, the biggest development in the game was the opportunity that was extended to freshman Kam Craft.
Craft, who had played a total of four minutes in two Big East appearances this season, was one of Xavier's first substitutes to enter Saturday's game, and he took advantage of the opportunity with eight points, four rebounds and a 3-pointer.
"I thought Kam did some good things. It's hard when you haven't played ... I think to be fair to him he has to get a little bit more comfortable," said Miller. "He walks onto the court, he's 6-foot-5 and you felt that a little bit in the first half when he was in there. He had a couple plays around the basket which were easy plays for him and I was happy we were able to get him in the game. I believe this, he can be a part of what we're doing moving forward."
Craft played 10 minutes, and he competed for all 10.
Cesare Edwards also got some extended action with 10 minutes. His presence wasn't as noticeable as Craft's but Xavier doesn't need everyone who comes into the game to score and take over a game.
The Musketeers need guys who execute and give the starters some much-needed rest.
That's how it played out on Saturday.
Xavier gets a bit of a break before its next game on Friday at Butler.
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