DAYTON, Ohio — Marcus Foster scored 22 points and Zach Freemantle added 15 while overcoming foul trouble as Xavier rallied past Texas, 86-80, in a First Four game of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night.
The Musketeers (22-11) erased a 13-point deficit in their biggest comeback win of the season and advanced to play No. 6 seed Illinois on Friday night in a Midwest Region game at Milwaukee.
Tre Johnson led the Longhorns with 23 points in a matchup of No. 11 seeds.
Freemantle made two free throws to give Xavier an 82-79 lead with 1:09 left. Johnson missed a fadeaway jumper, and Dailyn Swain’s putback of Freemantle’s 3-point miss extended the margin to five. Freemantle’s dunk secured the victory.
The Longhorns (19-16) took advantage of early foul trouble for Xavier and got to the rim at will in the first half, scoring 26 of their 47 points in the paint.
Freemantle, who averaged 19.8 points during the Musketeers’ seven-game winning streak to close the regular season, had two points and two fouls in the first half. He picked up his fourth foul with 7:10 left.
Texas led 47-39 at halftime. It was the first time Xavier trailed at halftime since a loss at Creighton on Jan. 29.
Jerome Hunter’s 3-pointer tied the score at 65-all with eight minutes left.
A 3-pointer by Oklahoma transfer John Hugley put the Musketeers ahead 75-74 with 5:07 remaining.
It was the fourth time since 1990 that the programs have met in the NCAA Tournament, with each school winning twice.
In the early game …
Mount St. Mary’s 83, American 72: Dola Adebayo and Jedy Cordilla each scored 22 points as Mount St. Mary’s won the matchup of No. 16 seeds that saw American lose its leading scorer to an injury early.
The Mountaineers (23-12) earned a date with No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in an East Region game at Raleigh, North Carolina.
“Today when we walked out there for the national anthem, it was a little bit of a holy cow moment for me,” Mountaineers coach Donny Lind said. “Now to get to move on with this group and let them keep playing and to go down to Raleigh and play Duke is awesome. We’ve got to get ready and give them everything we’ve got.”
Geoff Sprouse led American (22-13) with 18 points on six 3-pointers off the bench. Elijah Stephens scored 12.
“This is going to hurt for a while, but I’m going to flip the page,” Eagles coach Duane Simpkins said. “We’ve got six very good freshmen coming in, and we’re going to start to develop a game plan of how to get better. We’ll be back.”
American leading scorer Matt Rogers injured his right knee four minutes into the game.
Rogers attempted to play through the pain, but with 5:28 remaining in the first half he fell to the court, was helped off and did not return. Rogers, who averages 17 points per game, finished with seven points in eight minutes. He watched the second half from the bench on crutches.
“Yeah, I feel terrible for him,” Lind said. “His versatility really stood out, and his will. He plays really, really hard. He’s emotional in a great way for their team.”
Both teams were shooting better than 60% and went a combined 8 of 19 from 3-point range through the first 10 minutes. Dallas Hobbs beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to put Mount St. Mary’s ahead 48-38 at halftime.
Hobbs finished with 17 points.
“I was nervous,” Hobbs said. “It’s safe to say this was the biggest game I’ve played in in my life.”
Mount St. Mary’s was missing leading 3-point shooter Carmelo Pacheco, who hasn’t played since breaking a finger in the regular-season finale.
But the Mountaineers stayed hot from long range in the second half. Malcolm Dread’s 3-pointer put them ahead 64-51 with 11:26 left.
“Obviously, offense was clicking pretty well for us,” Lind said. “But credit to American. They battled the whole time, obviously with losing (Rogers) early, but they showed no letup.”
Mount St. Mary’s improved to 3-6 in the NCAA Tournament. Up next, the ACC champion Blue Devils.
“It means a lot to the university,” Hobbs said. “As far as playing Duke next, our mentality is the same thing, just going in and following the game plan, follow what Coach says, and hopefully go out there and get a win.”
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