Furious St. John’s rally falls short in loss to No. 22 Xavier

Jack Nunge had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 22 Xavier won its seventh straight game by holding off St. John’s 84-79 at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday night.

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 at home against No. 2 UConn on Saturday. Souley Boum had 17 points and six assists, and Zach Freemantle added 14 points and nine rebounds.

David Jones had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Storm (11-3, 1-2), who lost for the first time in nine games this season at Carnesecca Arena on campus.

Joel Soriano, who leads the nation with 11 double-doubles, added 14 points and eight rebounds. Montez Mathis also scored 14 for St. John’s, which won the previous three meetings with Xavier after dropping 12 in a row.

Corey Sipkin

Corey Sipkin

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Corey Sipkin

Corey Sipkin

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St. John’s twice trimmed the deficit to six late in the second half and then to five on a 3-pointer by Jones with 26 seconds left. After a Xavier turnover, the Red Storm had a chance to make it interesting at the end, but Jones and Posh Alexander missed 3s before the buzzer.

After moving into the AP Top 25 this week for the first time this season, Xavier consistently beat St. John’s to loose balls in a fast-paced game. The Musketeers went on a 16-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Boum, to open a 27-12 lead 7:01 into the game and went into halftime ahead 48-37.