SAN FRANCISCO — Kevin Frey can't measure his health in absolutes. “I have never played a healthy game here (at Xavier) yet,” he said. Yet in relative terms, he is approaching a painless peak.

        The senior forward, who has worn a brace over a tightly taped left ankle the past two years, went without the brace last Wednesday at Miami. Perhaps not coincidentally, his shot looked greatly improved upon the first two games of the season.

        “That (going braceless) was a huge stride in the right direction,” Frey said. “It didn't matter if I didn't even score a basket, as long as it felt better and we won the game.”

        It felt better, XU won, and Frey was a respectable 3-of-7 for 10 points. He had his first 3-pointer and first dunk of the season.

        The first two games, Frey was a combined 3-of-23 (13 percent) from the field. Recovery from offseason surgery on the ankle took time away from his conditioning, and he said tired legs left his shots short.

        Frey has spent an hour each morning shooting, plus extra time before and after practices. Add that to bicycle and jump-rope workouts.

        “I think success is won in practice,” he said. “I've gotta keep doing what's helping.”

        XU coach Thad Matta praised Frey for defending and rebounding well during the shooting slump. “There's nobody in the country working harder than he is right now,” Matta said.

        Frey also is suffering from a deviated septum in his nose that he says limits him to breathing through one nostril. He also has totaled 39 stitches in his XU career and suffered from a sore elbow that had to be drained five times last season alone.

        A-10 FARES WELL: Entering play Saturday, the Atlantic 10 had a cumulative 30-16 mark (.652) and stood fourth in the www.CollegeRPI.com conference ratings. The only team with a sub-.500 mark was 1-2 Temple, whose losses came to Top 10 teams Florida and Maryland.

        FINN EXCELS:

        XU signee Dedrick Finn, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Newburgh (Ind.) Castle High, became the fastest player in school history to reach 1,000 points, reaching the mark last Tuesday in his season opener.

        Finn then totaled 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in a victory Friday over Evansville North. In two games for Castle (2-0), the state's ninth-ranked 4A team, Finn is 8-of-12 from 3-point range.

        UP NEXT:

        XU visits Purdue at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Ch. 64).

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