No. 19 UConn drops game vs. Xavier thanks to Freemantle's 15 points

CINCINNATI (AP) — Dailyn Swain and Zach Freemantle each scored 15 points to help Xavier defeat No. 19 UConn 76-72 on Saturday night.

Xavier (13-8, 5-5 Big East) had lost four straight to the Huskies. It was the Musketeers' second win over a ranked conference opponent recently. They won at then-No 7 Marquette last Saturday.

Solo Ball scored 20 points and Aidan Mahaney had 14 for UConn (14-6, 6-3).

The Huskies had possession trailing 74-72 with 21.7 seconds remaining but the Musketeers forced a shot clock violation. Marcus Foster was fouled and hit two free throws to seal the victory.

Swain left Wednesday's loss at St. John's with an ankle sprain but returned to spark the Musketeers who had five players in double figures.

The Musketeers led by as many as 10 points during a wild first half, but allowed 23 points in the final seven minutes as the Huskies rallied to take a 41-40 lead into halftime.

Takeaways

UConn: Freshman Liam McNeeley, the team's third-leading scorer, did not play due to a high ankle sprain. The Huskies were further hampered when Alex Karaban fouled out with 3:27 left.

Xavier: The Musketeers needed more production off the bench. The bench contributed 26 points on Saturday, all of them by Dante Maddox Jr. and Jerome Hunter.

Key moment

Xavier led by five points when Ball was fouled by Foster on a 3-point attempt. Ball made three free throws to cut the deficit to 74-72 with 1:29 left.

Key stat

Through 20 games, Xavier had 13% of its shots blocked, which ranks 12th worst nationally. UConn had seven blocks in Saturday's game.

Up next

UConn hosts DePaul on Wednesday, while Xavier plays at Creighton on Wednesday.

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