No. 3 Xavier survives scare from No. 14 Kennesaw State to advance in the NCAA men's tournament

We almost had another March Madness upset — but then sanity prevailed.

Pushed to the verge of a shocking defeat in the first round the men’s NCAA Tournament, No. 3 Xavier rallied from as many as 13 points down in the second half to defeat No. 14 Kennesaw State 72-67.

The comeback helped Xavier avoid becoming the third high-profile upset victim of the young tournament, joining No. 2 Arizona (59-55 to No. 15 Princeton) and No. 4 Virginia (68-67 to No. 13 Furman).

The Musketeers led 20-11 six minutes into the game before the Owls responded to take the lead at the break, 43-36. Kennesaw would push that lead into double digits multiple times in the second half, including a 61-48 advantage with just under 10 minutes left.

But Xavier would go on a 15-0 run in the next five minutes to take a 63-61 lead. The two teams would trade baskets down the stretch until Musketeers guard Colby Jones hit one of two free throws with 18.3 seconds left to move Xavier up 68-67.

One the ensuing possession, Kennesaw's Terrell Burden drove to the hoop but had his short attempt blocked by Xavier big man Jack Nunge. The Musketeers recovered the loose ball, and Souley Boum hit both free throws with two seconds left.

Xavier was led by senior forward Jerome Hunter, who scored a game- and career-high 24 points with five rebounds.

This year’s tournament appearance was Xavier’s first since the 2018 season, snapping the program’s longest such drought since 1979-82.

This is also the first year of the second tenure for coach Sean Miller, who led Xavier to four tournament appearance from 2004-9 before leaving for the same position at Arizona. He was rehired last March.