kyxu
01-27-2008, 04:54 PM
http://www.xavierhoops.com/forums/images/recaps/012708umass.gifTypically in road games for Xavier, poor three-point shooting does not implicate success, with lopsided losses at Arizona State and Temple as prime examples. Toss in one of Xavier’s worst free-throw shooting performances of the season (67 percent), and it would be difficult to anticipate Xavier (17-4, 5-1) coming out with their first win in Amherst since January 18, 2003.
Team balance and Drew Lavender’s team-high 19 points and nine rebounds would make certain a valuable win on the road against a solid UMass team (13-6, 2-3) would not slip through their fingers. Xavier lead by as many as 18 points in the second half when Stanley Burrell laid it in for a 49-31 lead. But with under six minutes to go in the game, and Xavier leading 62-50, UMass used a 13-6 run to pull within five at 68-63 with under two minutes to go.
The Musketeers had faced a similar situation at George Washington a week ago when a double-digit lead had all but vanished with time winding down. And just like one week ago, Josh Duncan (10 pts, 3 reb) scored inside and got two defensive rebounds to slam the door on the Minutemen. On the ensuing, unanswered possessions, BJ Raymond (8 points) dunked it home, Derrick Brown (14 points) added two and Lavender dropped a three from New Hampshire to secure Xavier’s second road win in eight days and third in their last four tries.
Duncan did not have his best game from the field, scoring just the lone lay-up in five attempts, but he was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line and, like Lavender and Burrell, was a senior that answered the call when his team needed him. Burrell (5 pts, 3 reb) once again bottled up a chronic 20-point scorer by holding UMass’ Ricky Harris to just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Xavier also held UMass well below their season average of 84 points per game by forcing the Minutemen into an unimpressive 37 percent from the field and 28 percent from three. Gary Forbes (16 points), the other half of the 20-point-scoring duet for UMass, was also held below his average. He and Etienne Brower (22 points) still kept things interesting for the home team, but Xavier’s interior game kept the Musketeers on top for most of the afternoon, staking a 37-28 rebounding edge for the game, and outscoring UMass in the paint, 44-24.
For the second consecutive contest, CJ Anderson’s aggressive play kept the Muskies’ offensive hopes alive when they were too cold (18 percent) from the perimeter. Anderson scored 13 points and combined with Jason Love (8 points) for 14 rebounds. Brown also did serious damage inside, contributing some rim-rattling dunks to go with five boards and a couple blocked shots. The efforts of Anderson, Duncan, Brown and Love inside were key to combating UMass’ difficult match-up zone, as well as compensating for Xavier’s poor outside shooting.
The Musketeers now return home for five days to prepare for the La Salle Explorers (7-11, 2-3) at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Explorers are coming off an 84-61 dismantling of St. Bonaventure.
Article recap provided by kyxu. Click HERE (http://www.xavierhoops.com/forums/member.php?u=90) to check out his member profile.
Team balance and Drew Lavender’s team-high 19 points and nine rebounds would make certain a valuable win on the road against a solid UMass team (13-6, 2-3) would not slip through their fingers. Xavier lead by as many as 18 points in the second half when Stanley Burrell laid it in for a 49-31 lead. But with under six minutes to go in the game, and Xavier leading 62-50, UMass used a 13-6 run to pull within five at 68-63 with under two minutes to go.
The Musketeers had faced a similar situation at George Washington a week ago when a double-digit lead had all but vanished with time winding down. And just like one week ago, Josh Duncan (10 pts, 3 reb) scored inside and got two defensive rebounds to slam the door on the Minutemen. On the ensuing, unanswered possessions, BJ Raymond (8 points) dunked it home, Derrick Brown (14 points) added two and Lavender dropped a three from New Hampshire to secure Xavier’s second road win in eight days and third in their last four tries.
Duncan did not have his best game from the field, scoring just the lone lay-up in five attempts, but he was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line and, like Lavender and Burrell, was a senior that answered the call when his team needed him. Burrell (5 pts, 3 reb) once again bottled up a chronic 20-point scorer by holding UMass’ Ricky Harris to just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Xavier also held UMass well below their season average of 84 points per game by forcing the Minutemen into an unimpressive 37 percent from the field and 28 percent from three. Gary Forbes (16 points), the other half of the 20-point-scoring duet for UMass, was also held below his average. He and Etienne Brower (22 points) still kept things interesting for the home team, but Xavier’s interior game kept the Musketeers on top for most of the afternoon, staking a 37-28 rebounding edge for the game, and outscoring UMass in the paint, 44-24.
For the second consecutive contest, CJ Anderson’s aggressive play kept the Muskies’ offensive hopes alive when they were too cold (18 percent) from the perimeter. Anderson scored 13 points and combined with Jason Love (8 points) for 14 rebounds. Brown also did serious damage inside, contributing some rim-rattling dunks to go with five boards and a couple blocked shots. The efforts of Anderson, Duncan, Brown and Love inside were key to combating UMass’ difficult match-up zone, as well as compensating for Xavier’s poor outside shooting.
The Musketeers now return home for five days to prepare for the La Salle Explorers (7-11, 2-3) at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Explorers are coming off an 84-61 dismantling of St. Bonaventure.
Article recap provided by kyxu. Click HERE (http://www.xavierhoops.com/forums/member.php?u=90) to check out his member profile.