By G. Wesley Garrison

3 21 2025

BOX SCORE

https://goxavier.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2024-25/no-6-seed-illinois/boxscore/12850

MILWAUKEE – Dailyn Swain scored a career and game-high 27 points on Friday night in Xavier’s 86-73 loss to No. 6 seed Illinois in the NCAA Tournament First Round at Fiserv Forum.

The Musketeers season comes to a close with a 22-12 overall record. Xavier moves to 31-30 all-time in NCAA Tournament action.

• Xavier opened the game on a 6-2 run behind a pair of three pointers from Ryan Conwell and Zach Freemantle. Illinois responded by scoring five straight points to take its first lead of the game, 7-6, with 16:21 on the clock.
• The opening half featured five lead changes and two ties. The Fighting Illini led by as many as eight points (35-27) with five minutes left before the break. Xavier battled back to close within two points (37-35) on a Ryan Conwell jumper with 1:05 on the clock.
• Kylan Boswell hit a three point as time expired to give Illinois a five-point advantage (40-35) at the break. Illinois hit 44.4 percent (12-fo-27) of its shot attempts in the first half with six 3-pointers.
• Xavier was limited to a .382 field-goal percentage (13-for-34) and went 7-for-14 from behind the arc. Dante Maddox Jr. and Dailyn Swain paced Xavier with eight points each.
• Illinois shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the floor in the second half, building a 17-point advantage (74-57) with 7:35 left in regulation. Xavier battled back to close within eight points (76-68) on a Dailyn Swain three-point play with 4:40 left in regulation. The Fighting Illini responded by outscoring Xavier, 10-5, down the stretch to pull away for the 13-point win (86-73).
•  Dailyn Swain scored 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with three steals and three assists.
• Ryan Conwell and Dayvion McKnight both added 12 points to round out the double-figure scorers. Dante Maddox Jr. finished with eight points in 21 minutes of action off the bench.
• Jerome Hunter added six points, four rebounds and one steal in 13 minutes. Zach Freemantle added five points, four steals and three rebounds.
• Xavier posted a .403 field-goal percentage (25-for-62) and went 9-for-23 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were also 14-for-19 from the foul line.
• Illinois won the battle on the glass, 45-25, and scored five more second-chance points (10-5) than Xavier. The Musketeers held a 13-6 advantage in points off of turnovers and scored eight more fastbreak points (10-2). Xavier also held a 14-6 advantage in bench points.
• Illinois scored four more points in the paint (30-26) than the Musketeers.
• Illinois went 28-for-58 from the floor and 12-for-30 from behind the arc. The Fighting Illini were also 18-for-18 from the foul line.
• Xavier had 11 steals, the team’s ninth game of the year with 10 or more steals.

COURTESY XAVIER ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS