DAYTON, Ohio — Marcus Foster sank four clutch 3-pointers and scored a team-high 22 points to help Xavier rally past Texas 86-80 on Wednesday in the NCAA Tournament’s final First Four game.

Xavier (22-11) advances as the No. 11 seed to play No. 6 seed Illinois in a first-round Midwest Region contest Friday in Milwaukee.

Zach Freemantle overcame early foul trouble to finish with 15 points while Dailyn Swain and Ryan Conwell added 11 apiece for Xavier. Dante Maddox Jr. put up 10 points.

The final seven minutes featured intense momentum swings that saw Texas lose a 10-point lead, Xavier build a four-point lead and the Longhorns rally to tie.

Freemantle capped the night with a dunk just before the final buzzer, sending the partisan Xavier crowd into hysteria.

“It’s one of the greatest games I’ve been a part of, obviously, the energy of the crowd, our fans certainly took advantage of the proximity to Cincinnati and that emotion and when we needed them,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “It was certainly a factor in the game. I think all (of our) guys would tell you that we certainly felt it, really appreciated it. Look, I thought we beat an excellent Texas team.”

Tre Johnson finished with 23 points for Texas (19-16), while Tramon Mark added 16 points and five assists. Kadin Shedrick contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.

“I just think we were playing good as a team,” Johnson said. “It just got late and we had little miscommunication on some shots, and they made big shots in big moments.”

In the first half, Texas took advantage of a Xavier team that was got off to a shaky start.

Freemantle picked up his second foul just five-plus minutes into the game, and he was subbed out. With the team struggling to find offense without him, Xavier coach Sean Miller put Freemantle back into the game less than three minutes later.

“We just try to not let it affect us. You’ve got to play the game the way you’re going to play the game,” Freemantle said. “I mean, if they’re going to call fouls, it is what it is. But if you let a couple fouls make you play soft and make you back up, or whatever, you’re going to end up giving up points, you end up losing the game. So we just got to, got to keep fighting through it.”

Then, with just under six minutes left in the first half, Conwell was whistled for his third foul and subsequently took a seat. Texas took advantage by going to the paint, outscoring Xavier 26-16 in the lane before halftime.

The Musketeers appeared to gain valuable momentum just before the half on Jerome Hunter’s straightaway 3-pointer that cut Texas’ lead to six. But Mark answered with a drive into the paint and a floater that beat the buzzer and put Texas ahead 47-39 entering halftime.

Xavier cut the deficit to four and had several chances to get closer early in the second half but didn’t do so. Freemantle picked up his third foul with 13:20 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Johnson knocked down a trey to expand the Longhorns’ lead to 62-52.

However, thanks to 3-pointers from Foster and Hunter, Xavier forged a 65-65 tie with 8:10 left.

The score was 78-78 with 2:53 to go before Freemantle scored the Musketeers’ next four points on a jumper and two foul shots. A jumper from Swain with 20 seconds left put Xavier up 84-79.

After the game, multiple reports surfaced that the Texas athletic department was ready to make a change and relieve Rodney Terry of his duties after three years as the Longhorns’ head coach.

“I’ve been in Texas 13 years, and there’s not a year I haven’t made the NCAA Tournament or been a part of the NCAA Tournament,” said Terry, who served as a Longhorns assistant from 2002-03 to 2010-11 and again in 2021-22. “I have a lot of pride in terms of being a Longhorn.

“I love being in Texas. I don’t think anyone (that has) been a part of Texas basketball has been more successful than myself. I’ve been a part of the top five seasons in this program’s history. …

“Our guys get a lot of credit for putting themselves in a great position to be here tonight. At the end of the day, it’s in God’s hands.”

–Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media