– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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WASHINGTON — Xavier guard Souley Boum saw his team’s once comfortable lead start to slip away in the second half, and the Musketeers were in danger of seeing victory in their conference opener slipping away as well. From there, Boum went on a personal mission to restore order, helping hot-shooting Xavier to continue its winning ways.
Boum, a transfer from UTEP, scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half as Xavier’s offense was torrid all game in its 102-89 victory over Georgetown inside of Capital One Arena in the Big East opener for both schools. All five starters scored in double figures for the Musketeers, who shot a blistering 60.3 percent (41-of-68) from the field, including making 14 of their 26 three-point attempts.
All eight players who attempted a field goal for the Musketeers shot at least 50 percent from the field.
The Musketeers were able to extend their five-point halftime lead up to 13 at 72-59 with 12:06 remaining, but that was answered by a 14-5 run by the Hoyas to pull Georgetown within 77-73, forcing Xavier to call a timeout after Wayne Bristol Jr.’s three-pointer for the Hoyas.
After the timeout, Boum went on a personal 8-0 run to build back Xavier’s lead to double digits, and the margin between the two side did not fall under nine points for the rest of the contest. Fifteen of Boum’s 20 second-half points came in the final 8:24 of the contest.
Primo Spears scored 22 points to lead the Hoyas, who shot almost 52 percent from the field in the game. However, Georgetown was undone by 50 points in the paint by the Musketeers, who also scored 17 fast break points and 11 second-chance points.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Friday evening’s game, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 11 pictures in total.
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