Musketeers Beat: Dailyn Swain Shows Star Power As Xavier Dismantles Undermanned DePaul, 85-68

CINCINNATI — Dailyn Swain is quickly becoming the face of Xavier basketball.

The 19-year-old sophomore swing scored 17 points to lead host Xavier to an 85-68 Big East win over injury-depleted DePaul Saturday at Cintas Center. Swain made all six shots from the floor as Xavier was 26-of-36 inside the arc.

“It just shows that we’re a versatile team, we don’t have to rely on the 3-pointer, and we can score regardless,” Swain said.

Swain added seven rebounds and eight assists while Zach Freemantle scored 19 points and hauled in nine rebounds. Ryan Conwell and Dayvion McKnight each had 14 points to lead a balanced attack for Xavier, which had all five starters score in double figures.

But it was Swain who powered the Musketeers at key stretches, even if he had three turnovers to go with his flirtation with a first career triple-double. True, there wasn’t much drama in the second half of a game the Musketeers led by as many as 22. But in the first half, when the undermanned Blue Demons cut the lead to four and six at stretches in the first half.

Xavier (16-10, 8-7) moved over .500 for the first time this season in conference play while completing a season series sweep of DePaul (11-15, 2-13).

Swain has now scored in double figures in 11 of the last 14 games, averaging 13 points and six rebounds and 4.5 assists over the last eight games.

How critical has he been to the Musketeer fortunes? In Xavier’s 80-68 loss at Villanova on Super Bowl Sunday – its only loss in the last four games – Swain was battling a respiratory issue and scored just four points and grabbed five rebounds in 15 minutes.

“When we played Villanova, Dailyn was sick. If I had a do-over, I wouldn’t have played him or played him even less,” head coach Sean Miller said. “He had a really hard time breathing when he woke up. He’d be the first one to tell you that when he played, he wasn’t good.

“He’s such a valuable player for us. With him playing well, we’re a completely different team. Against Providence, he was healthier and took a big step forward and played, but he wasn’t at the level he was before we played Villanova. Today he returned back to form. When he’s on the rise, playing the game (with) versatility, rebounds, steals, scores, passes, he just adds so many good things to our group.”

Xavier will need Swain at full strength for the final five games, starting with a home game against Butler on Tuesday that will cap a four-game stretch in nine days.

CJ Gunn had 16 points and Layden Blocker added 12 for the Blue Demons, who fell for the 34th time in their last 36 Big East games. Including the conference tournament, the Blue Demons have tasted victory just six times in their last 54 Big East contests.

Playing without their leading rebounder in NJ Benson and their starting point guard Conor Enright – out for the season following shoulder surgery – the shorthanded Blue Demons struggled to stay close in the first half.

Xavier opened the game on a 10-0 run and used another 10-0 run to widen their lead to 14 points, 32-18, with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.

Behind eight first-half points from Layden Blocker, DePaul managed to cut the deficit to two, 12-10, and to four, 22-18, early in the opening half but could get no closer the rest of the game.

Freemantle and Swain both noted how Xavier’s defense improved in the second half against DePaul, versus the 51 points they allowed in the second half of the 91-82 shootout victory against Providence on Wednesday.

DePaul shot only 7-of-29 from three-point range and just 2-of-12 in the second half while the Musketeers made the most of 15 turnovers.

“I thought we were solid on defense tonight,” Miller said. “The rest of our season will be really dependent on how we defend and, in particular, how well we can defend in the second half.”

Overal field goal shooting was the biggest difference in the first half as DePaul shot just 38.7 percent on 12-of-31 shooting, including just 5-of-17 from beyond the arc. By contrast, Xavier was blistering for most of the opening 20 minutes, draining 14 of their first 21 attempts and finishing the half shooting 61 percent from the field to take a 45-31 halftime lead.

Xavier welcomed back three basketball stars of the past, as Jordan Crawford and Aaron Williams were inducted into the school’s hall of fame while Colby Jones of the NBA’s Washington Wizards sat courtside.