By G. Wesley Garrison

74,411 Sean Miller Xavier head coach Musketeers able to comeback and beat Texas to advance Xavier 86 Texas 80 3 19 2025

74,414 Marcus Foster Xavier M BKB His 2nd half performance was the key for Xavier winning the game Xavier 86 Texas 80 3 19 2025

74,416 Marcus Foster Xavier M BKB Texas in 1st half had 26 of 41 points at the rim. What changed in the 2nd half. Xavier 86 Texas 80 3 19 2025

74,419 Marcus Foster Xavier M BKB He talks about guarding Texas’ best Tre Johnson. It gave him a chance to challenge himself to stop him Xavier 86 Texas 80 3 19 2025

BOX SCORE

https://goxavier.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2024-25/no-11-seed-texas/boxscore/12848

Five Musketeers reached double figures on Wednesday night at UD Arena

3 19 2025

DAYTON, Ohio – Marcus Foster led five Musketeers in double figures on Wednesday night as Xavier posted a come-from-behind, 86-80, win over No. 11 seed Texas at UD Arena.

Xavier advances to the NCAA Tournament First Round vs No. 6 Illinois on Friday, March 21 in Milwaukee. Tip-off is slated for 9:45 p.m. ET from Fiserv Forum with the game being aired nationally on CBS.

• The opening half featured four lead changes and two ties. Texas took its first double-figure lead (23-13) with 11:49 on the clock. The Longhorns led by 11 points (45-34) with 2:15 left in the half before Xavier used a 5-0 run capped by a Jerome Hunter three pointer to close within six points.
• Tramon Mark hit a jumper in the paint as time expired, giving the Longhorns an eight-point advantage (47-39) at the break. Texas hit 58.1 percent (18-for-31) of its shot attempts in the first half.
• Dante Maddox Jr. led the Musketeers with 10 points at the break. Xavier went 15-for-28 from the floor (.536 field-goal percentage) and knocked down five 3-pointers.
• Xavier opened the second half on a 7-3 run capped by a Zach Freemantle dunk, getting the Musketeers within four points (50-46) and forcing a Texas timeout. The Musketeers battled back to tie the game, 65-65, on a Jerome Hunter baseline three pointer with 8:10 left in regulation.
• The Musketeers again tied the game at 67-67 in a pair of Ryan Conwell free throws with 7:28 on the clock.
• John Hugley IV sank a three pointer with 5:07 left in regulation to give Xavier a one-point lead (75-74), the team’s first advantage since the 16:31 mark in the first half. Dailyn Swain extended Xavier’s lead to four points, 78-84, on the team’s next possession.
• A Jayson Kent basket with 2:53 on the clock tied the contest for the final time, 78-78. Zach Freemantle hit a jump shot with 1:48 in regulation to regain a Xavier lead (80-78) they would never relinquish.
• The Musketeers closed the game on an 8-2 run, capped by a Zach Freemantle dunk to secure the win. Freemantle scored six of the team’s final eight points.
• Marcus Foster scored a team-high 22 points on 8-for-9 shooting with four 3-pointers. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and dished out two assists.
• Zach Freemantle added 15 points, two rebounds and two assists. The forward was 6-for-13 from the floor.
• Ryan Conwell and Dailyn Swain both added 11 points, combining to go 9-for-16 from the floor. Swain added four rebounds and two steals, while Conwell chipped in three assists and two rebounds.
• Dante Maddox Jr. rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points. He added two assists and one rebound.
• Jerome Hunter finished with nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc. The forward added one rebound, one block and one steal.
• Xavier posted a .552 field-goal percentage and went 12-for-25 from behind the arc. The Musketeers have hit 50 percent or more of their shot attempts 12 times this year. Xavier has also made 10 or more three pointers in a game 12 times this season.
• The Musketeers were also 10-for-16 from the foul line.
• Xavier held a 16-7 advantage in points off of turnovers and scored three more bench points (22-19) than the Longhorns. Texas won the battle on the glass 33-28 and held a 36-34 advantage in points in the paint. The Longhorns also scored one more second-chance point (7-6) than Xavier.
• The Musketeers held a 17-7 advantage in fastbreak points.
• Texas finished the game with a .491 field-goal percentage (27-for-55) and went 8-for-17 from behind the arc. The Longhorns were also 18-for-24 from the foul line.
• All told, the game featured five ties and five lead changes. Xavier only led for 5:26 in the contest.
• The Musketeers move to 31-29 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

COURTESY XAVIER ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS