WASHINGTON DC – (Staff report from Official News Release) – Marquette pulled away to win at Georgetown and Xavier did the same at Butler in Friday night BIG EAST play. After winning 88-56 against Providence on Tuesday, Marquette beat Georgetown 92-64. No. 22 Xavier, playing its first game in 17 days, defeated Butler 87-72.
The Golden Eagles (10-6, 2-3 BIG EAST) used a 17-0 run early in the second half to break the game open against the Hoyas (6-6, 0-1 BE). Olivier-Maxence Prosper, whose previous career scoring high was 13 points, netted 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. Tyler Kolek, the BIG EAST’s assist leader, had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and seven assists. Marquette outshot Georgetown from the field 59.1 percent to 29.9 percent. Collin Holloway was the Hoya scoring leader with 17 points.
The Musketeers (12-2, 2-1 BE) established a 42-31 halftime lead at Hinkle Fieldhouse, then repelled Bulldog comeback attempts. Xavier’s Adam Kunkel came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points, one short of his career high. He shot 8-of-12 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Paul Scruggs contributed 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Xavier had a season-low six turnovers. Butler (8-6, 1-2 BE) was led by Aaron Thompson’s 20 points and Bryce Golden’s 19. Thompson went over the 500-assist mark for his career.
Saturday’s league schedule is all in the afternoon. Two games tip at noon ET. St. John’s plays at Providence on FS1. No. 24 Seton Hall hosts Connecticut at noon on FOX. The No. 19 Villanova at DePaul game has moved from FS1 to FOX at 2 p.m.