By G. Wesley Garrison
3 1 2025
CINCINNATI – Xavier men’s basketball won its fifth straight game on Saturday evening, defeating RV/No. 25 Creighton, 83-61, at Cintas Center.
A standing-room only crowd of 10,674 was in attendance for the BIG EAST match-up, the eighth-largest crowd in the 25-year history of Cintas Center.
The Musketeers improve to 19-10 (11-7 BIG EAST) on the year, while the Bluejays move to 20-9 (13-5 BIG EAST).
The Musketeers return to action on Wednesday, March 5 at Butler. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from historic Hinkle Fieldhouse with the game being aired nationally on CBS Sports Network.
NOTABLE
- Creighton took an early 11-6 lead over the Musketeers with 15:41 on the clock in the first half. Xavier responded with a 7-0 run capped by a Dante Maddox Jr. layup to take a two-point advantage (13-11).
- Xavier never trailed again in the game and took its first double-figure lead, 30-19, with 6:01 left in the first half. The Musketeers led by as many as 18 points (40-22) with two minutes left in the half and took a 42-27 advantage into the locker room.
- Creighton battled back to close within eight points (57-49) with 10:29 left in regulation. The Musketeers responded by scoring 14 straight points to regain a double-figure advantage they would never relinquish. Xavier led by as many as 24 points (83-59) with 15 seconds left in the game.
- Zach Freemantle scored a game-high 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting. The forward added six rebounds, three assists and one block.
- Ryan Conwell added 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting with a game-high four 3-pointers. The guard added five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
- Dante Maddox Jr. finished with 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting in 26 minutes of action off the bench. The guard added three steals and three assists.
- Dailyn Swain rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points. He added a team-high seven rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals.
- Marcus Foster chipped in five assists, three rebounds and three points. Jerome Hunter had five rebounds, two points and one steal in 15 minutes of action off the bench.
- Xavier finished the game with a .555 field-goal percentage (33-for-60), the team’s ninth game shooting 50 percent or better. The Musketeers were also 11-for-21 from behind the arc, the team’s 10th game of the year with 10 or more made three pointers. Xavier went 6-for-8 from the foul line.
- Xavier had 10 steals, the team’s eighth game of the season with 10 or more steals. The Musketeers have recorded 10 or more steals in three straight games.
- Creighton finished with a .448 field-goal percentage (26-for-58) and went 6-for-24 from behind the arc. The Bluejays went 3-for-7 from the foul line.
- The Musketeers held a 16-7 advantage in points off of turnovers and scored nine more bench points (19-8) than Creighton.
- The Bluejays won the battle on the glass, 33-32, and scored six more second-chance points (10-4) than Xavier. Creighton also held a 38-34 advantage in points in the paint and scored one more fastbreak point (14-13) than the Musketeers.
COURTESY XAVIER ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
