Trey Townsend scored a game-high 28 points, including a game-clinching jumper with 26 seconds left, to lead Oakland to a stunning 78-76 win over Xavier in Cincinnati on Monday night.
Dailyn Swain barely missed a desperation 3-pointer to win it for the Musketeers when his half-court heave hit the front iron.
Townsend added six rebounds and seven assists to his spectacular night while Chris Conway had 15 points for the Golden Grizzlies (4-3), who rallied on the road for their fourth win in five games.
Desmond Claude led Xavier (4-3) with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists while Abou Ousmane had 12 points for the Musketeers, who lost at home for the first time in four home games this season.
The Golden Grizzlies attacked the Musketeers early and often inside, grabbing leads of 17-9 and 36-30. Oakland dominated Xavier by a 24-12 margin in points in the paint to take a 43-42 halftime lead.
Claude scored 14 points in the first half and helped key a 9-2 shortly before the break to help the Musketeers trim the Oakland lead to one by intermission.
Claude's jumper in the paint gave Xavier a 50-49 lead with 16:22 left in the second half. But Oakland responded with the next nine points over the next four minutes to claim a 58-50 advantage on Townsend's jump hook in the lane with 12:32 remaining.
Trey Green and Quincy Olivari answered with threes as part of an 8-1 Xavier spurt to close the margin again.
Xavier stayed in the game with strong rebounding, leading to extended offensive possessions. The Musketeers outrebounded the Golden Grizzlies 37-29 and outscored them 22-10 in second-chance points for the game.
Swain intercepted a kick-back pass to the top of the key from Conway and raced the length of the court for a layup that put Xavier ahead 67-66 with 4:54 remaining. Xavier appeared ready to pull away when Ousmane put back a missed shot for a 69-66 lead, bringing the sellout crowd to its feet.
But Townsend converted a layup and free throw to tie the game and Jack Gohlke drained a trey with 2:55 left for a 72-69 Oakland lead. Rocket Watts connected on a jumper with 1:26 to go to cap a 10-2 run and put Oakland up 76-71.
Townsend's jumper with 26 seconds left made it 78-73.
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