Zach Freemantle's 24 Points Lead Musketeers in 96-50 Win Over Ball State

Wednesday, December 8

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

8-1,0-0Big East

Ball State

3-5,0-0MAC

Ball St.

Xavier

Zach Freemantle's 24 Points Lead Musketeers in 96-50 Win Over Ball State

12.08.21 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Photos

Freemantle's point total marks season-high; Colby Jones and Nate Johnson each add 14 for the Musketeers

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Zach Freemantle's 24 points led three Musketeers in double figures as Xavier picked up a 96-50 win over Ball State at Cintas Center on Wednesday evening.

Freemantle shot 9-of-11 from the floor and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line on his way to a game-high 24 points. Nate Johnson and Colby Jones each added 14 points to help the Musketeers run away from the Cardinals on the way to a fourth-straight win. Xavier moved to 8-1 on the season while Ball State dropped to 3-5.

FIRST HALF

Ball State jumped out to a 7-2 lead before Xavier scored 11 straight points to go in front by six, 13-7.
The 11-0 run started a stretch where Xavier outscored the Cardinals 29-6 over a 10 minute period to take an 18-point lead, 31-13, with six minutes remaining in the half.
Xavier led by as many as 25, 45-20, before going into the half with a 45-23 lead.
Nate Johnson scored 11 points, connecting on 3-of-4 threes in the first half.
Zach Freemantle went 5-of-6 on two point field goals to match Johnson for team-high at the break.
After starting the half 1-of-5 from the floor, Xavier went 11-of-14 over the next six minutes to build out its lead, shooting 52.9 overall from the floor and 42.9 from three, while holding Ball State to 30 percent shooting from the floor and 28.6 percent shooting from three.
Paul Scruggs and Colby Jones each grabbed five rebounds to lead Xavier as the Musketeers went into the break with a 25-13 advantage on the boards.

SECOND HALF

Xavier outscored the Cardinals 21-8 over the first nine minutes of the second half to build a 35-point lead, 66-31.
The Musketeers shot 53.3 percent overall and connected on 6-of-11 shots from outside to build the lead out to 40 points, with Cesare Edwards hitting a three with :06 remaining to put the Musketeers up by 46, 96-50, to set the final scored.
Xavier limited Ball State to 29.4 shooting overall and just 3-of-17 from outside in the second half.
Zach Freemantle scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor, going 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Colby Jones shot 75 percent from the floor, going 2-of-2 from outside for eight second half points.
Xavier had a 26-13 advantage on the boards in the second half, led by four each for Paul Scruggs and Jerome Hunter.

NOTABLES

Zach Freemantle's 24 points led all scorers and were a season-high for the junior, shooting 9-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Freemantle also grabbed seven rebounds and finished with four assists.
His 24 points is Freemantle's highest point total since scoring 24 at Providence on 2/24/21.
Nate Johnson finished with 14 points after scoring 11 points during Xavier's 29-6 run to take control of the game in the first half.
Colby Jones finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting overall and 2-of-3 shooting from outside. Jones also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists.
Paul Scruggs led Xavier with nine rebounds as the Musketeers finished with a 51-26 advantage on the boards.
Dwon Odom had six assists and the Musketeers finished with 21 assists total.
Xavier finished shooting 53.1 percent overall, going12-of-25 from three, while holding Ball State to 29.7 percent shooting and limiting the Cardinals to 7-of-31 from three.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers remain at home to host Cincinnati for the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout on Saturday, December 11 at Cintas Center. Tip-off with the Bearcats is set for 8:30 p.m. on FS1.

HIGHLIGHTS