March Madness: Xavier rallies to beat Texas 86-80 in First Four
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Tre Johnson led the Longhorns (19-16) with 23 points in a matchup of No. 11 seeds
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Marcus Foster scored 22 points and Zach Freemantle added 15 while overcoming foul trouble as Xavier rallied past Texas 86-80 in the First Four on Wednesday night.
The Musketeers (22-11) erased a 13-point deficit in their biggest comeback win this season and advanced into the main bracket of the NCAA Tournament to play No. 6 seed Illinois on Friday night in a Midwest Region game at Milwaukee.
“That’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “I thought we beat an excellent Texas team. They are disciplined. They have depth and talent. We knew it was going to be a great challenge to beat a really good team from the SEC. I’m really proud of our team.”
Tre Johnson led the Longhorns (19-16) with 23 points in a matchup of No. 11 seeds. Tramon Mark scored 16.
Freemantle hit a turnaround jumper to break a 78-all tie with 1:48 remaining and his two free throws extended Xavier’s lead to 82-79 with 1:09 left. Johnson missed a fadeaway jumper, and Dailyn Swain’s putback of Freemantle’s missed 3-pointer upped the margin to five with 20 seconds to play.
