Zach Freemantle had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to help No. 22 Xavier hand the visiting second-ranked UConn Huskies their first loss of the season 83-73 Saturday before a frenzied crowd in Cincinnati.
Xavier was also gifted a huge mistake from often animated UConn coach Danny Hurley, whose complaining earned him a technical foul with 2:25 remaining. Souley Boum hit both free throws to put Xavier up 76-71 before Freemantle added another for a 77-71 lead.
Colby Jones added 16 points while Jack Nunge and Jerome Hunter scored 15 apiece to lead Xavier (12-3, 4-0) to its eighth straight win. It is the first 4-0 start for Xavier in Big East Conference play.
Adama Sanogo had 18 points for UConn (14-1, 3-1) while Andre Jackson Jr. added 14 points and eight assists.
Xavier jumped out to a quick start thanks to red-hot shooting. The Musketeers made 14 of their first 21 shots from the floor while holding UConn to 9 of 24 in the opening 13 minutes.
A 13-2 run midway through the first half allowed Xavier to open a 31-22 lead. The Muskeeters eventually built the lead to 36-26 on a Nunge layup with 5:48 left in the first half.
From that point, UConn outscored Xavier 16-5 over the remainder of the first half, taking a 42-41 halftime lead on Nahiem Alleyne’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The shot inspired Hurley to take three fingers on his right hand and punch them repeatedly against his forehead in celebration, as the Huskies headed to the locker room with their first lead since midway through the first half.
Alex Karaban hit a 3-pointer seven seconds into the second half to extend UConn’s run to 9-0 before Adam Kunkel finally responded with a layup for Xavier. But Jackson answered with a straightaway three that put UConn up 48-43, sparking a timeout from Xavier coach Sean Miller 52 seconds into the second half.
After UConn built its lead to 50-43, Xavier got the sellout crowd back in the game with the next five points.
With Hurley and Miller both frantically working the officials, Xavier rallied from a 58-54 deficit with a 14-4 run, once again bringing the Cintas Center crowd to a frenzy.
–Field Level Media
