Swain Scores Career-High 27 Points in NCAA Tournament First Round Loss vs Illinois

Friday, March 21

Milwaukee, Wis.

9:45 p.m. ET

Xavier University

22-12,13-7Big East

No. 6 seed Illinois

22-12,12-8Big Ten

Xavier

Illinois

Swain Scores Career-High 27 Points in NCAA Tournament First Round Loss vs Illinois

03.22.25 | Men's Basketball

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No. 6 seed Illinois topped No. 11 seed Xavier, 86-73, on Friday night at Fiserv Forum

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

MILWAUKEE - Dailyn Swain scored a career and game-high 27 points on Friday night in Xavier's 86-73 loss to No. 6 seed Illinois in the NCAA Tournament First Round at Fiserv Forum.

The Musketeers season comes to a close with a 22-12 overall record. Xavier moves to 31-30 all-time in NCAA Tournament action.

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Xavier opened the game on a 6-2 run behind a pair of three pointers from Ryan Conwell and Zach Freemantle. Illinois responded by scoring five straight points to take its first lead of the game, 7-6, with 16:21 on the clock.
The opening half featured five lead changes and two ties. The Fighting Illini led by as many as eight points (35-27) with five minutes left before the break. Xavier battled back to close within two points (37-35) on a Ryan Conwell jumper with 1:05 on the clock.
Kylan Boswell hit a three point as time expired to give Illinois a five-point advantage (40-35) at the break. Illinois hit 44.4 percent (12-fo-27) of its shot attempts in the first half with six 3-pointers.
Xavier was limited to a .382 field-goal percentage (13-for-34) and went 7-for-14 from behind the arc. Dante Maddox Jr. and Dailyn Swain paced Xavier with eight points each.
Illinois shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the floor in the second half, building a 17-point advantage (74-57) with 7:35 left in regulation. Xavier battled back to close within eight points (76-68) on a Dailyn Swain three-point play with 4:40 left in regulation. The Fighting Illini responded by outscoring Xavier, 10-5, down the stretch to pull away for the 13-point win (86-73).
Dailyn Swain scored 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with three steals and three assists.
Ryan Conwell and Dayvion McKnight both added 12 points to round out the double-figure scorers. Dante Maddox Jr. finished with eight points in 21 minutes of action off the bench.
Jerome Hunter added six points, four rebounds and one steal in 13 minutes. Zach Freemantle added five points, four steals and three rebounds.
Xavier posted a .403 field-goal percentage (25-for-62) and went 9-for-23 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were also 14-for-19 from the foul line.
Illinois won the battle on the glass, 45-25, and scored five more second-chance points (10-5) than Xavier. The Musketeers held a 13-6 advantage in points off of turnovers and scored eight more fastbreak points (10-2). Xavier also held a 14-6 advantage in bench points.
Illinois scored four more points in the paint (30-26) than the Musketeers.
Illinois went 28-for-58 from the floor and 12-for-30 from behind the arc. The Fighting Illini were also 18-for-18 from the foul line.
Xavier had 11 steals, the team's ninth game of the year with 10 or more steals.