Xavier cruises past Ole Miss with 76-57 win

Xavier 76, Ole Miss 57: Matt Stainbrook recorded 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the Musketeers held off the Rebels in the NCAA Tournament round of 64 play in Jacksonville, Fla.

Dee Davis made four 3-pointers en route to matching his season high with 17 points for sixth-seeded Xavier (22-13), which will play 14th seed Georgia State in the round of 32 on Saturday. James Farr added six points and 13 rebounds for the Musketeers, who made 10-of-23 from behind the arc and won for the fourth time in five games.

Stefan Moody led the way with 14 points and M.J. Rhett added 12 on 6-of-9 shooting for No. 11 seed Ole Miss (21-13), which scored 62 in the second half of its First Four win over BYU. LaDarius White chipped in with 11 points and Martavious Newby grabbed 13 rebounds for the Rebels, who shot 32.9 percent from the field — including 6-of-27 from 3-point range.

Davis drained two 3-pointers early as Xavier built a quick 16-5 bulge and the Musketeers led by as many as 15 in the first half before settling for a 36-24 edge at intermission. Stainbrook scored 12 points and Davis had 11 while Xavier held Ole Miss to 30.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

The Musketeers pushed the lead to 18 before the Rebels ran off 13 of the next 18 points, capped by a Moody layup, to close within 60-50 with 6:53 to go. Stainbrook answered with a basket to ignite an 8-2 spurt for a 16-point edge and Ole Miss could not respond as it lost for the fifth time in its last seven contests.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Xavier won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2012 when it reached the regional semifinals and is 22-24 in 25 all-time appearances. … Ole Miss G Jarvis Summers, the team’s second-leading scorer, went 0-of-8 from the field and did not score while dishing out seven assists. … Davis passed Dedrick Finn (481) for fifth on Xavier’s all-time assist list with 483 after collecting three Thursday.