Replay | Xavier dominates Creighton 82-60 to advance to the Big East championship game

NEW YORK – The objective is to build for March.

What the Xavier Musketeers built on Friday night inside Madison Square Garden was a masterpiece.

Xavier dominated Creighton in a near-flawless performance, winning its fifth straight, 82-60, to advance to the Big East Conference Tournament championship on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. against Marquette.

Xavier did everything right. The defense was outstanding. The offense did what it usually does.

Souley Boum led all scorers with 23 points and five 3-pointers. Jack Nunge scored 15 of his 17 in the second half.

Colby Jones had 14 points and Desmond Claude had 11 points and four steals.

Xavier led for more than 35 minutes and about midway through the first half, the Musketeers took the lead and never looked back.

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Xavier's clicking on all cylinders | Xavier 71, Creighton 53, 7:20 2H

Souley Boum's up to 21 points with five 3-pointers. Colby Jones has 14.

Jack Nunge, after going 1-for-6 with two points in the first half has scored 11 points in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting.

The Musketeers have also dominated the glass with a 37-24 advantage, 13 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points.

Souley Boum's up to 18 points | Xavier 59, Creighton 41, 11:32 2H

Boum's got 18 points with his fourth 3-pointer in the second half and a deep jumper just inside the arc.

Colby Jones is also doing his thing with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Xavier needs to be careful, though. The Musketeers have committed four straight shooting fouls and the Bluejays are about to have eight consecutive points from the foul line.

Xavier holds pace to open 2H | Xavier 46, Creighton 33, 15:39 2H

Xavier avoided the dreaded early second-half collapse, keeping pace with Creighton thanks to a few nice finishes at the rim from Adam Kunkel and a mid-range jumper from Jerome Hunter.

Xavier's also drawn two fouls on Creighton to start the second half.

Xavier with an emphatic start | Musketeers 40, Creighton 26, HALF

After allowing 49 points in the first half on Thursday night to DePaul, Xavier's defense did some soul-searching and held the Bluejays' high-powered offense to 26 points and forced 11 turnovers.

Souley Boum was business as usual with 13 points.

But it was freshman Desmond Claude who stole the show for Xavier with nine points and four steals.

The recent problem for Xavier has been the first four minutes of the second half.

That will be a prominent talking point in Xavier's halftime locker room.

Desmond Claude shining bright | Xavier 37, Creighton 26, 2:18 1H

Claude's playing some impactful basketball at both ends of the floor. He's got four steals, eight points, and he's headed to the foul line for two after the final media timeout of the first half.

Xavier just sustained a mini-Creighton run by continuing to run good offense.

Colby Jones also has eight points and Souley Boum has 11.

Jack Nunge's dealing with a cut on his face and he's been forced to check out of the game until Xavier can get the bleeding to stop.

Souley Boum, Xavier catch fire | Xavier 29, Creighton 15, 7:28 1H

Souley Boum just drilled back-to-back 3-pointers. The Musketeers are on a 12-1 run. Xavier's forced 10 Creighton turnovers and scored 15 points off them.

Boum's got 11 points to lead Xavier. Desmond Claude's playing winning basketball off the bench.

Xavier's defense has done a complete turnaround from Thursday night's win over DePaul.

Xavier continues strong start behind Jones' aggression | Xavier 17, Creighton 14, 11:37 1H

Colby Jones is 3-of-4 from the field with six points. Xavier's defense has three steals and forced five Creighton turnovers. The Musketeers looked ready defensively and the offense is doing what it does best.

Des Claude's given Xavier a big lift off the bench already. Claude's got four points. He just came up with a steal and drilled a mid-range jumper at the other end.

Xavier cooking right out of the gate | Xavier 11, Creighton 9, 15:10 1H

Xavier missed a dunk and a layup, paired with three early turnovers. Once the Musketeers got that out of their system, Xavier's done a nice job of generating good looks.

Souley Boum's got a 3-pointer. Colby Jones has finished two drives. Jerome Hunter hit a mid-range fadeaway and Adam Kunkel got downhill on a drive for a lay-in.

Xavier's also scored five points off Creighton's three turnovers.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier Musketeers in Big East title game after dominating Creighton