FORT MYERS, Fla. — Zach Freemantle scored 16 points, Dailyn Swain added 14, and No. 22 Xavier beat South Carolina 75-66 in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Monday night.
Ryan Conwell added 13 points, Dayvion McKnight had 11 and Jerome Hunter chipped in 10 off the bench for the Musketeers (6-0).
Collin Murray-Boyles led South Carolina (3-3) with 13 points while Jamarii Thomas added 11 and Jacobi Wright 10.
The Musketeers jumped out to a 7-0 lead but South Carolina responded with the next 17 points as Xavier went scoreless for 6:35. The Gamecocks led 34-29 at halftime.
These teams last played in the 1941-42 season. Xavier now is 26-11 against SEC schools going back to 2008.
Xavier: This was the Musketeers’ first game away from the Cintas Center after starting the season with five home games. Xavier has a brutal stretch coming up that will included three straight games at No. 16 Cincinnati (Dec. 14), at No. 2 UConn (Dec. 18) and at home against No. 10 Marquette (Dec. 21).
South Carolina: The Gamecocks 17-0 run was highlighted by great defense. Xavier had no second chances, was contested on drives and couldn’t hit from the outside.
Xavier used 11-2 and 8-2 runs to regain the lead at 50-44. The Musketeers led by as much as 66-55 before South Carolina went on a 7-0 spurt. The Gamecocks would get no closer.
Xavier won despite shooting 4 of 18 from the 3-point line. The Musketeers had made at least 10 treys in their first five games.
Xavier plays Michigan on Wednesday for the title, the same day South Carolina plays Virginia Tech in a consolation game.
