Xavier Tops Gators, Advances to NIT Quarterfinals

Sunday, March 20

Cincinnati, Ohio

1 p.m.

Xavier University

20-13,8-11Big East

Florida

20-14,9-9SEC

Florida

Xavier

Xavier Tops Gators, Advances to NIT Quarterfinals

03.20.22 | Men's Basketball

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The Musketeers defeated Florida, 72-56, on Sunday afternoon

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Nate Johnson led five Musketeers in double figures with a game-high 16 points on Sunday afternoon as the Musketeers topped Florida, 72-56, at Cintas Center. Xavier advances to the NIT Quarterfinals and improves to 20-13 on the year.

FIRST HALF

Xavier hit four of its first seven shots, taking a 10-7 lead at the game's first media timeout (15:45). The Musketeers led by as many as 10 points (21-11) at the 11:13 mark and held an eight-point advantage (21-13) at the under 12-minute media timeout (10:35). Xavier hit nine of its first 14 shots of the game (64.3 percent).
Xavier maintained its lead until Florida tied the game at 31-31 with 1:21 left in the first half. Zach Freemantle made a basket with 1:02 on the clock to give Xavier two-point lead (33-31), but the Gators knocked down a shot as time expired - making the score 33-33 at the break.
Zach Freemantle led Xavier with eight points on 4-for-6 shooting, while Nate Johnson added seven points. Jack Nunge chipped in five points and three rebounds.
Xavier held a 17-14 advantage on the glass and scored two more points off of turnovers (9-7). The Musketeers also had seven more bench points (14-7).
The first half had three ties and one lead change.

SECOND HALF

Xavier hit four of its first five shots to open the second half, outscoring Florida, 9-3, to take a 42-36 advantage. The Musketeers opened the second half on a 14-3 run, taking an 11-point lead (47-36) at the 15:59 mark.
Xavier pushed its lead out to 12 points (55-43) with 7:39 left in regulation and took its largest lead of the game, 72-54, in the closing seconds of the game.
The Musketeers limited the Gators to 23 points on 8-for-36 shooting in the second half. Xavier hit 52.2 percent (12-for-23) of its shots in the second half and were paced by Nate Johnson's nine points.
The Musketeers were also 14-for-17 from the foul line in the second half.

NOTABLES

Xavier had five players score in double figures for the second time in as many games. Nate Johnson scored a game-high 16 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals.
Jack Nunge added 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting to go along with a game-high eight rebounds. The forward added four assists.
Colby Jones added 11 points, five assists and a game-high four steals. Dwon Odom chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The seven rebounds match his career high in rebounding.
Zach Freemantle had 10 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes of action off the bench.
Xavier had 10 steals, the team's 10th game of the season with 10 or more steals.
Xavier finished the game with a .491 field-goal percentage (26-for-53) and went 16-for-22 from the foul line.
The Musketeers forced 15 turnovers, converting the miscues into 18 points. Xavier also won the battle on the glass, 43-32, and scored 10 more points in the paint (38-28).