CINCINNATI — In a thrilling matchup, Zach Freemantle led the scoring for No. 22 Xavier with 17 points, while Dayvion McKnight added a crucial 14 points, with 13 of those coming in the second half. Trey Green played a vital role at the end of the game, sinking all four of his free-throw attempts in the last 12 seconds to help secure a narrow 71-68 victory against South Carolina State on Sunday night.
Xavier’s season began strongly, notching six straight wins before experiencing a setback with a 78-53 defeat to Michigan in the championship game at the Fort Myers Tip-Off last Thursday.
The Musketeers showcased their skills with a significant 14-2 run, establishing their largest lead of the contest at 58-45, highlighted by a layup from Jerome Hunter, who contributed 10 points overall with just 5:38 left on the clock. However, South Carolina State responded with a surge, scoring the next 12 points. This run was capped off by Omar Croskey, whose three-pointer followed by a dunk brought the Bulldogs within a single point about three minutes later.
In the final moments, Xavier solidified their lead, hitting 10 out of 12 free-throw attempts to clinch the game.
For South Carolina State (4-5), Croskey was impactful, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the second half. Teammate Michael Teal also made a mark, finishing with 14 points, while Mitchell Taylor added 11, nine of which came after the halftime break.
Xavier struggled with six turnovers in the first half, leading to seven points for South Carolina State. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 18-11 lead, courtesy of a layup by Davion Everett that capped a 13-0 run. Following this, Xavier turned the tide by scoring 21 of the next 25 points, including seven from Freemantle, taking a substantial 32-22 advantage by the time Marcus Foster nailed a three-pointer around nine minutes later.
In another notable achievement, Zach Freemantle surpassed Joe Viviano on Xavier’s all-time scoring list, moving into 24th place with 1,352 points, now just 32 points shy of Jeff Jenkins, who ranks 23rd with 1,384 points from 1980-84.
As for the upcoming games, South Carolina State will host Samford on Thursday, while Xavier prepares to hit the road to play against TCU on the same day.
