Xavier got off to a bit of a rough start, trailing 6-0 with two turnovers after three minutes. After a Steele timeout, the Musketeers responded with a 6-0 run of their own to tie the game.
Xavier pushed their run to 10-0 before Butler responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead 13-10. A Paul Scruggs jumper brought the score to 13-12 with 11:05 remaining in the first half. The teams combined for two points total over the next three minutes, and the score was 15-12 with 8:00 until the end of the first half.