No. 22 Xavier rolls past Morehead State 86-63

Updated Dec. 15, 2021 10:43 p.m. ET

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Jerome Hunter scored 15 points and Colby Jones had 14 as No. 22 Xavier rolled past Morehead State 86-63 on Wednesday night.

Jack Nunge had 13 points and seven rebounds for Xavier (10-1), which wrapped up an impressive nonconference slate.

Nunge was named Big East Conference player of the week after having a career-high 31 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's win over Cincinnati. He came off the bench to deliver another strong performance on Wednesday.

Zach Freemantle, who was making his first start after missing the first six games due to injury, had nine points and three assists.

The Musketeers are off to their best start through 11 games during coach Travis Steele’s four seasons. They have wins over No. 15 Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati, with their only loss coming against No. 11 Iowa State.

Johni Broome scored 20 points and Tray Hollowell had 19 for Morehead State (6-5).

The Eagles, who led the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense at 65.6 points per game, couldn't slow down the Musketeers in the first half.

After missing four of its first five attempts from 3-point range, Xavier hit six of its next seven.

Kunkel hit three straight 3s during an 18-0 run that helped the Musketeers build a 47-19 halftime lead. He finished 4 of 9 from 3-point range.

Despite 15 turnovers, Xavier's offense was efficient with 25 assists on 29 made field goals.

BIG PICTURE

Morehead State: The Eagles were facing their second ranked opponent of the season and fifth in the past two years. They lost 77-54 at No. 22 Auburn on Nov. 9.

Xavier: The Musketeers are dealing with another bout of illness. Forwards Dieonte Miles and Cesare Edwards did not play Wednesday due to issues not related to COVID-19. Xavier was without three key players, including Miles, in a win over Virginia Tech last month.

UP NEXT

Morehead State hosts Alice Lloyd on Saturday.

Xavier hosts Marquette in its Big East Conference opener on Saturday.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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Zach Freemantle

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