IN A thrilling contest on day two of March Madness, the Xavier Musketeers held on for a six-point win over the Texas Longhorns in the First Four at UD Arena on Thursday afternoon.

The two 11-seeds came together in what was always going to be an intriguing matchup, having performed very similar throughout the 2024/25 season. There was plenty of talent on both sides, particularly on the senior front, with several experienced campaigners set to play a crucial role within the match.

It looked as if Texas was going to get the job done, producing a dominant first half display to give themselves a eight-point buffer at the change. However, the Musketeers did enough to keep themselves in the fight to start the second half, before storming home in the closing minutes to take the lead and eventually a six-point win.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will be casting an eye over how the key players performed in the match, as some of the NCAAM’s best and brightest continue to display their craft on a nightly basis.

Xavier Musketeers (86) def. Texas Longhorns (80)

XAVIER MUSKETEERS:

#1 Marcus Foster

It was one of Foster’s best performances of his career, and it could not have come at a better time for the Musketeers, leading all comers for his team on the scoring front and coming up with some massive plays in a close contest. His second half will be talked about for years to come at Xavier, coming up with clutch bucket after clutch bucket to drag his team back into the contest. He knocked down a vital triple coming out of half time just when it looked like the Longhorns were going to run away with it, and only built from there. The guard produced 16 of his 22 points in the second half and was one of the biggest reasons the Musketeers pulled themselves off the canvas for a memorable win. Foster shot a remarkable 8/9 from the field in a near-perfect offensive performance.

#32 Zach Freemantle

A rock solid performance from Freemantle proved to be crucial within the context of the match, with his 15 points vital in helping Xavier to the comeback win. Much like Foster, the forward did most of his work in the second half when the game was there to be won, creating scores for himself and others as the Musketeers came from the clouds to snatch the lead. He was particularly good down the stretch when the game was close, knocking down some vital free throws to ensure Xavier maintained the lead before throwing down the game-sealing dunk in the final seconds. He finished with 15 points, two rebounds and two assists and was vital in the final result.

TEXAS LONGHORNS:

#12 Tramon Mark

It was another productive outing from the Texas point guard, who was effective in the first half to put his team in a winning position. With ball in hand, Mark was able to get to his spots, putting the defence under immediate pressure with a quick first step and finished at the basket on several occasions. He tried his hands at some long range shooting, and nailed a pair of triples when the Longhorns were truly on top. As a playmaker, his decision making was excellent, and several of his teammates benefited from some centimetre-perfect passes, allowing them to finish with an uncontested shot, although he did bite off a bit more than he could chew on a few occasions, resulting in turnovers. Mark posted 16 points, four rebounds and five assists in a rock-solid showing.

#20 Tre Johnson

The leading scorer for the match, Johnson’s efforts were probably worthy of a win, and were crucial in putting Texas in such a strong position early in the game. Johnson was aggressive early in the piece, and although it took him a while to finally get his shots to fall, the opposition certainly paid the price for giving him too much time and space at times. Although his team’s performance was unbalanced in favour of the first half, Johnson was producing baskets across all 40 minutes, and showed his scoring prowess despite being in his Freshman season. He finished the game with 23 points and six rebounds in a seriously impressive scoring showing.