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12-19-2009, 10:47 PM
Controversy mires Musketeers’ failed upset bid of #17 Butler, 69-68
by Mike Damone
Fresh off an exhilarating double-overtime victory over their archrival Cincinnati Bearcats, the Xavier Musketeers hoped to turn the tables on #17 Butler and provide retribution for the upset the Bulldogs sprung on a ranked Xavier team a year ago in Cincinnati.
For much of the second half, it appeared as if Xavier was on its way to doing just that. After falling behind big early on, Xavier (6-4) rallied and maintained a modest lead on Butler for most of the second half. The Musketeers’ inability to get one final stop, led to two offensive rebounds and an extended possession for Butler (8-3) who eventually laid home the game-winner with, apparently, no time left on the clock to deliver a 69-68 gut punch to Xavier on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Xavier appeared to be in the driver’s seat with under 50 seconds remaining. Jordan Crawford (20 pts, 2 reb) buried a long, fall-away jumper to put the Musketeers up three, 68-65. Xavier needed possibly one final stop to escape Hinkle Fieldhouse with the victory – its second over a ranked foe in as many games.
There were few things the Musketeers could do in order for the game to escape their grasp, but in the few ticks left remaining in the contest, Xavier seemed to do them all. With just 39 seconds left and Xavier clinging to the three-point lead, Terrell Holloway (5 pts, 7 ast, 3 reb) was whistled for his fifth and final foul in the backcourt, allowing the Bulldogs to trim Xavier’s lead to one, 68-67, off a pair of free throws from Shevlin Mack (14 pts, 4 reb) without any time going off the clock.
On the ensuring inbounds play, Mark Lyons (6 points) received the pass but quickly picked up his dribble, allowing Butler’s Gordon Hayward (22 pts, 14 reb) to swoop in and tie up Lyons for a jump ball, which provided possession to Butler with a chance to win it with 36 seconds to go.
The game’s remaining moments will be ingrained in Xavier’s psyche for years to come...and not in a good way.
Shevlin Mack’s three-point try hit hard off the iron, but Hayward fielded the offensive board to give Butler another try. While Butler worked the ball around for an open shot, a pass fired and skipped into the backcourt, apparently tipped by a Musketeer. Despite the diving effort from Dante Jackson (3 points) to keep the rock in Xavier’s court, the Bulldogs corralled the loose ball to set up another game-winner.
Another Butler three missed, this time from Willie Veasley (13 pts, 4 reb), and Xavier was yet again unable to grab the rebound. The basketball pin-balled through the hands of several players before landing between the legs of Kenny Frease (12 pts, 4 reb) who was on the floor. Frease attempted to pass the ball back to Jackson to maintain possession, but the pass was deflected and ended up in the hands of Hayward, who by his lonesome laid it in with what looked like just 1.2 seconds left.
The officials signaled a stoppage to review what, many thought, would be how much time the Musketeers would be given on their final possession. The replay showed that the ball left Hayward’s hand with 1.9 seconds remaining. Instead, the officials were trying to clear up a clock discrepancy that occurred about 14 seconds before the game-winning bucket. After around five minutes of deliberation, the officials finally signaled that no time would be left on the clock, and that, much to the chagrin of Chris Mack and his team, the game was over.
Mack had choice words for the officials, and needed to be restrained by his coaching staff. Holloway also needed to be restrained for reasons unknown, while the rest of his teammates walked off the court visibly dejected. Chris Mack and his staff vehemently contested that the officials should have accounted for more than the 1.2 seconds that prevented the Musketeers from setting up for a final shot, and that the clock failed to run on several occasions within the last minute. If the officials had accounted for such discrepancies, the Xavier staff contended, Hayward’s basket should not have counted.
Regardless, it was a difficult end to an otherwise thrilling game. Butler looked to blow the doors off the Musketeers in the game’s opening minutes. The Bulldogs opened the game going 7-for-8 from the field on their way to an early 20-6 lead. Hayward accounted for 10 of the points on the run.
Xavier scored six straight to cut Butler’s lead to eight, 20-12, with 11:22 to go in the first half, but Butler stretched the lead to 15, 29-14, off a lay-up from Veasley with 7:30 to go. Xavier then began to stage a feverish comeback that would span the remainder of the first half, and the first few minutes of the second.
Back-to-back triples from Brad Redford (8 points) brought the Musketeers to within eight, 34-26, with just 4:46 to go. A pair of free throws from Hayward later stretched Butler’s lead back to 12, 38-26, with just 1:13 left in the first half. Frease scored inside to trim Butler’s lead back to single-digits, 39-30, with just 15 seconds left. The bucket would start the Musketeers’ 15-0, seemingly putting Xavier in control.
On the next play, Redford stole the ball in the backcourt and was fouled with just a second remaining, where he drained both free throws to give the Musketeers a manageable halftime deficit, 39-32.
Before the Bulldogs knew what hit them, Xavier scored the second half’s first 11 points to give the Musketeers their first lead of the game. Just ten seconds into the second half, Jason Love (14 pts, 7 reb) scored off a feed from Holloway, and Crawford later canned a jumper to cut Butler’s lead to three, 39-36.
Love scored again on Xavier’s next possession, and Crawford knocked down a three to give the Musketeers their first lead. Crawford capped the run with a driving layup to give Xavier a four-point lead, 43-39, with 17:11 to go. A jumper from Frease gave Xavier its largest lead of the afternoon, 47-41, with 15:32 remaining.
Butler would get its house in order, however, and a driving, fastbreak layup from Veasley cut Xavier’s lead to one with 12:01 to go. But Xavier would continue to answer, as Frease got another bucket to go inside, and Lyons laid it in on an assist from Holloway to push Xavier’s lead back to four.
A lay-up by Veasley and a pair of free throws from Ronald Nored (2 pts, 3 ast) knotted the game at 60, and Matt Howard (12 pts, 6 reb) gave Butler the lead back with a bucket inside, 64-62, with 2:30 to go.
A short jumper in the paint from Crawford tied the score again, and a baby hook from Love gave the Musketeers the lead back, 66-65, with just 1:32 to go. A traveling violation on Howard turned the ball back to Xavier, where Crawford pulled up for a long jumper to provide Xavier with its final offensive tally of the afternoon with 48 seconds to go.
The Musketeers could have closed the contest out, but were unable to keep the Bulldogs off the glass, especially during Butler’s final possession. The Bulldogs out-rebounded Xavier, 34-21. The Musketeers went to the line just 10 times, where they made good on only five attempts. Butler shot 68 percent from the line.
Xavier was able to mount its comeback and take control thanks to a blistering 69 percent shooting clip in the second half. Crawford led the Musketeers with 20 points, followed by Love with 14 and Frease with 12.
Hayward led four double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs, with 22 points to go with 14 boards. Shelvin Mack added 14, followed by 13 from Veasley and 12 from Howard. The loss for Xavier ended a five-game winning streak for Xavier in the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
In the locker room after the game, Mack made it clear to his team that it was responsible for its fate in this game, as the Musketeers were unable to keep the Bulldogs off the offensive glass. Xavier will need to heed their coach’s advice in order to handle the Miami Redhawks, who will visit Xavier on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. The Redhawks (3-8) are coming off a 68-61 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday.
by Mike Damone
Fresh off an exhilarating double-overtime victory over their archrival Cincinnati Bearcats, the Xavier Musketeers hoped to turn the tables on #17 Butler and provide retribution for the upset the Bulldogs sprung on a ranked Xavier team a year ago in Cincinnati.
For much of the second half, it appeared as if Xavier was on its way to doing just that. After falling behind big early on, Xavier (6-4) rallied and maintained a modest lead on Butler for most of the second half. The Musketeers’ inability to get one final stop, led to two offensive rebounds and an extended possession for Butler (8-3) who eventually laid home the game-winner with, apparently, no time left on the clock to deliver a 69-68 gut punch to Xavier on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Xavier appeared to be in the driver’s seat with under 50 seconds remaining. Jordan Crawford (20 pts, 2 reb) buried a long, fall-away jumper to put the Musketeers up three, 68-65. Xavier needed possibly one final stop to escape Hinkle Fieldhouse with the victory – its second over a ranked foe in as many games.
There were few things the Musketeers could do in order for the game to escape their grasp, but in the few ticks left remaining in the contest, Xavier seemed to do them all. With just 39 seconds left and Xavier clinging to the three-point lead, Terrell Holloway (5 pts, 7 ast, 3 reb) was whistled for his fifth and final foul in the backcourt, allowing the Bulldogs to trim Xavier’s lead to one, 68-67, off a pair of free throws from Shevlin Mack (14 pts, 4 reb) without any time going off the clock.
On the ensuring inbounds play, Mark Lyons (6 points) received the pass but quickly picked up his dribble, allowing Butler’s Gordon Hayward (22 pts, 14 reb) to swoop in and tie up Lyons for a jump ball, which provided possession to Butler with a chance to win it with 36 seconds to go.
The game’s remaining moments will be ingrained in Xavier’s psyche for years to come...and not in a good way.
Shevlin Mack’s three-point try hit hard off the iron, but Hayward fielded the offensive board to give Butler another try. While Butler worked the ball around for an open shot, a pass fired and skipped into the backcourt, apparently tipped by a Musketeer. Despite the diving effort from Dante Jackson (3 points) to keep the rock in Xavier’s court, the Bulldogs corralled the loose ball to set up another game-winner.
Another Butler three missed, this time from Willie Veasley (13 pts, 4 reb), and Xavier was yet again unable to grab the rebound. The basketball pin-balled through the hands of several players before landing between the legs of Kenny Frease (12 pts, 4 reb) who was on the floor. Frease attempted to pass the ball back to Jackson to maintain possession, but the pass was deflected and ended up in the hands of Hayward, who by his lonesome laid it in with what looked like just 1.2 seconds left.
The officials signaled a stoppage to review what, many thought, would be how much time the Musketeers would be given on their final possession. The replay showed that the ball left Hayward’s hand with 1.9 seconds remaining. Instead, the officials were trying to clear up a clock discrepancy that occurred about 14 seconds before the game-winning bucket. After around five minutes of deliberation, the officials finally signaled that no time would be left on the clock, and that, much to the chagrin of Chris Mack and his team, the game was over.
Mack had choice words for the officials, and needed to be restrained by his coaching staff. Holloway also needed to be restrained for reasons unknown, while the rest of his teammates walked off the court visibly dejected. Chris Mack and his staff vehemently contested that the officials should have accounted for more than the 1.2 seconds that prevented the Musketeers from setting up for a final shot, and that the clock failed to run on several occasions within the last minute. If the officials had accounted for such discrepancies, the Xavier staff contended, Hayward’s basket should not have counted.
Regardless, it was a difficult end to an otherwise thrilling game. Butler looked to blow the doors off the Musketeers in the game’s opening minutes. The Bulldogs opened the game going 7-for-8 from the field on their way to an early 20-6 lead. Hayward accounted for 10 of the points on the run.
Xavier scored six straight to cut Butler’s lead to eight, 20-12, with 11:22 to go in the first half, but Butler stretched the lead to 15, 29-14, off a lay-up from Veasley with 7:30 to go. Xavier then began to stage a feverish comeback that would span the remainder of the first half, and the first few minutes of the second.
Back-to-back triples from Brad Redford (8 points) brought the Musketeers to within eight, 34-26, with just 4:46 to go. A pair of free throws from Hayward later stretched Butler’s lead back to 12, 38-26, with just 1:13 left in the first half. Frease scored inside to trim Butler’s lead back to single-digits, 39-30, with just 15 seconds left. The bucket would start the Musketeers’ 15-0, seemingly putting Xavier in control.
On the next play, Redford stole the ball in the backcourt and was fouled with just a second remaining, where he drained both free throws to give the Musketeers a manageable halftime deficit, 39-32.
Before the Bulldogs knew what hit them, Xavier scored the second half’s first 11 points to give the Musketeers their first lead of the game. Just ten seconds into the second half, Jason Love (14 pts, 7 reb) scored off a feed from Holloway, and Crawford later canned a jumper to cut Butler’s lead to three, 39-36.
Love scored again on Xavier’s next possession, and Crawford knocked down a three to give the Musketeers their first lead. Crawford capped the run with a driving layup to give Xavier a four-point lead, 43-39, with 17:11 to go. A jumper from Frease gave Xavier its largest lead of the afternoon, 47-41, with 15:32 remaining.
Butler would get its house in order, however, and a driving, fastbreak layup from Veasley cut Xavier’s lead to one with 12:01 to go. But Xavier would continue to answer, as Frease got another bucket to go inside, and Lyons laid it in on an assist from Holloway to push Xavier’s lead back to four.
A lay-up by Veasley and a pair of free throws from Ronald Nored (2 pts, 3 ast) knotted the game at 60, and Matt Howard (12 pts, 6 reb) gave Butler the lead back with a bucket inside, 64-62, with 2:30 to go.
A short jumper in the paint from Crawford tied the score again, and a baby hook from Love gave the Musketeers the lead back, 66-65, with just 1:32 to go. A traveling violation on Howard turned the ball back to Xavier, where Crawford pulled up for a long jumper to provide Xavier with its final offensive tally of the afternoon with 48 seconds to go.
The Musketeers could have closed the contest out, but were unable to keep the Bulldogs off the glass, especially during Butler’s final possession. The Bulldogs out-rebounded Xavier, 34-21. The Musketeers went to the line just 10 times, where they made good on only five attempts. Butler shot 68 percent from the line.
Xavier was able to mount its comeback and take control thanks to a blistering 69 percent shooting clip in the second half. Crawford led the Musketeers with 20 points, followed by Love with 14 and Frease with 12.
Hayward led four double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs, with 22 points to go with 14 boards. Shelvin Mack added 14, followed by 13 from Veasley and 12 from Howard. The loss for Xavier ended a five-game winning streak for Xavier in the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
In the locker room after the game, Mack made it clear to his team that it was responsible for its fate in this game, as the Musketeers were unable to keep the Bulldogs off the offensive glass. Xavier will need to heed their coach’s advice in order to handle the Miami Redhawks, who will visit Xavier on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. The Redhawks (3-8) are coming off a 68-61 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday.