St. John’s guard Andre Courvelo (3) makes his way past the Xavier guard’s Sule Boom to the basket during the second half of the NCAA college basketball game in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. Xavier he won 84-79. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
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Jack Nanji had 23 points and 11 rebounds while No. 22 Xavier extended his seventh straight victory Wednesday night with an 84-79 win over St. John’s.
The Musketeers (11-3, 3-0 Big East) built an 18-point cushion midway through the second half before fending off a late comeback attempt to set up a showdown with No. 2 UConn at home on Saturday. Did. Sule Boom has 17 points and six assists, while Zach Fremantle has 14 points and nine rebounds.
David Jones tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds with the Red Storm (11-3, 1-2), losing his first nine games of the season at the on-campus Carnesecca Arena.
Joel Soriano led the nation with 11 double-doubles and had 14 points and eight rebounds. Montes his Matisse also scored his 14 points at St. His Johns, and in his last three matches against Xavier he scored a win after dropping 12 points in a row.
St. John’s cut the deficit to 6 twice late in the second half, then to 5 on Jones’ 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining. After Xavier’s turnover, Red Storm had one last chance to make it interesting, but Jones and Posh Alexander missed his three seconds before the buzzer.
After breaking into the AP Top 25 for the first time this season, Xavier lost the ball as they beat St. John’s consistently in fast-paced games. The Musketeers started with a 27-12 lead on a 16-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Boum, starting the game at 7:01 and going 48-37 going into halftime.
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Xavier: It’s the fourth time the experienced Musketeers have opened 3-0 in the Big East after winning the NIT last season. All three of his non-conference losses were in his four games in November against teams of Indiana, Duke and Gonzaga, who were in the top 12 at the time.
St. John’s: After winning 10-1 against a fairly soft non-conference schedule, Red Storm dropped back-to-back Big East matches to Villanova and Xavier. There may not be many chances for signature wins against ranked Big East opponents this season that will catch the attention of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. .
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St. John’s Reserve’s Rafael Pinzon didn’t wear a suit due to illness. The sophomore guard is averaging 6.1 points per game and he is averaging 2.9 rebounds. In his last five games he has scored 15-7 with 3 points from the range.
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Xavier: A challenging stretch of schedule that should be a good measure for a team that looks like Big East contenders. After hosting the undefeated Huskies (14-0), the Musketeers will play his January 7th at Villanova, followed by his home games against Clayton and Marquette.
St. John’s: Play Saturday afternoon at Hudson River rivals Seton Hall (7-7, 0-3).
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