Xavier tops Georgia State to reach Sweet 16

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Bring on Sean Miller and the Arizona Wildcats.

Xavier punched its ticket to its fifth Sweet 16 since 2008 by defeating West Region darling Georgia State in a 75-67 NCAA tournament third-round game Saturday at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

"It feels great. We've been through a lot," senior point guard Dee Davis said. "My freshman year we made it to the Sweet 16 with Tu Holloway (and) I was more so watching him and I just did my part. Being able to do this my senior year and having a major role on the team, it feels great."

The sixth-seeded Musketeers (23-13) ousted 11th-seed Ole Miss and 14th-seeded Georgia State (25-10) for the right to meet former Xavier coach Miller and No. 2 Arizona, Thursday in Los Angeles. The Wildcats (33-3) beat 15th-seeded Texas Southern and Thad Matta's 10th-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes to advance.

The victory was undeniably sweet for a Musketeers team that celebrated before its fans – a team that was largely dismissed nationally in lieu of charismatic Ron Hunter, a former Miami University player who coached from a stool due to an Achilles tendon tear, and his defensively crafty Panthers.

But Jalen Reynolds stole the show with a career-high 21 points while playing one of his best games in a Xavier uniform. He delivered nearly every time the Musketeers needed him to, whether it was making eight of nine field goals or all five of his free throws.

The sophomore said Friday he wanted to put a rough showing against Ole Miss behind him, and he proved it on the court Saturday. He tied a team high with six rebounds.

"I just know how bad I wanted to win this game, how bad my teammates wanted to win this game, so I knew I had to step my game up and it turned out well," Reynolds said.

Xavier played into its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2012 with help from Myles Davis' 17 points behind five 3-pointers, Dee Davis' 15 points and five assists, and Matt Stainbrook's nine points and six boards.

Georgia State insisted before the game that it was no Cinderella, and the team reinforced that idea by harassing the Musketeers with an aggressive match-up zone. The Panthers racked up 17 points off turnovers throughout.

"Coming into the game, the thing we felt like was probably the most important aspect of how we handled ourselves on the floor was being able to limit our turnovers, and we didn't do as good of a job as we needed to in the first half. When we did take care of the ball, we got great shots," Xavier coach Chris Mack said.

Xavier committed five turnovers in the second half but only missed three shots. The game's intensity peaked with 15:06 left when Markus Crider's baseline drive knotted the score a third time, 38-all.

But Dee Davis answered with a lay-up and then found Myles Davis on the next possession for a 3-pointer. Reynolds capped a 7-0 run with a jam that incited a head tipping roar.

Georgia State never recovered, despite pulling within four with 5:05 to play.

The Panthers entered the game with an additional option as second-leading scorer Ryan Harrow decided during Saturday morning's shoot-around he would play. He'd previously been sidelined with a hamstring strain and did not dress for the team's NCAA tournament opener against Baylor.

Harrow replaced Ryann Green less than three minutes into the game and contributed six points throughout.

At the same time, Reynolds continued to be a key cog for Xavier, whether it was reeling in a pass from Stainbrook for a dunk or patrolling the glass. He scored 10 of his team's first 32 points and helped the Musketeers out-rebound Georgia State 17-5 by the break.

The forward's final basket of the first half was a dazzler. He gathered a J.P. Macura pass, turned and dunked with 2.7 seconds left.

Hunter thought the biggest game-changer was third-year starter and fourth-year Musketeer Dee Davis.

"Dee Davis was terrific. He was absolutely terrific. He was able to stabilize the team. I thought he played great," Hunter said.

"Our game plan really worked, to be honest with you. We took (Stainbrook) completely out of the game for the most part. We spaced and those kind of things but Dee Davis was the key. He ran the team and in my opinion, he's one of the top five point guards in the country."

The Panthers were led by Hunter's son, R.J., who scored 20 points and checked out to a warm reception with 20.1 seconds remaining.