Zach Freemantle scored 16 points as No. 22 Xavier kept its perfect record intact, holding off South Carolina for a 75-66 victory on Monday night at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida.
Freemantle knocked down 6 of 8 shots and also had nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks for the Musketeers (6-0), who appeared in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll this week for the first time this season.
Dailyn Swain bundled 14 points, six rebounds and five steals for Xavier. Ryan Conwell added 13 points, Dayvion McKnight scored 11 and Jerome Hunter had 10.
Collin Murray-Boyles led the Gamecocks (3-3) with 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals before fouling out with 14 seconds left. Jamarii Thomas added 11 points and six rebounds.
South Carolina led 34-29 at the break, holding Xavier to its lowest point total in a single half so far this season. The Musketeers went up 7-0 before they endured a scoring drought of more than six minutes, missing 10 straight field goal attempts as the Gamecocks went on a 17-0 run. Xavier, which entered Monday tied with No. 8 Kentucky for the most assists per game (21.8) had just two in the first half.
But the Musketeers got it together in the second half, breaking off a 16-6 run to take a 47-42 lead. It was a stretch highlighted by a steal-and-dunk from Swain and Conwell later swishing an unassisted 3-pointer.
The Gamecocks later trimmed the deficit to two points, but Xavier answered with a 14-5 run to go up 64-53 with 6:51 to play after Conwell connected on a layup.
South Carolina whittled the lead to four with 1:23 to go before Hunter, McKnight and Swain powered a 7-0 run that put the game out of reach.
The Musketeers scored 20 points off South Carolina’s 12 turnovers and outscored the Gamecocks 21-10 in transition. Xavier won the rebounding margin 41-31.
Xavier will now move on to face Michigan in the championship game of the multi-team event on Wednesday, while South Carolina will aim to bounce back against Virginia Tech.
–Field Level Media
