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02-18-2010, 10:36 AM
Xavier resumes A-10 play with downing of Hawks, 88-52
By Mike Damone
After a daunting three-game stretch of road contests – which saw the Musketeers finish a respectable 2-1 – and just before a pivotal three-game swing against members of the Atlantic 10’s upper half, Xavier was greeted with a match-up Wednesday night that should, on paper, have helped reinforce its place among the conference’s top three.
The St. Joseph’s Hawks (9-17, 3-9) came into the Cintas Center as one of the Atlantic 10’s worst rebounding teams, which ultimately spelled their demise as the bigger, stronger Musketeers throttled the Hawks on the boards, 53-17, en route to an 88-52 Xavier victory.
Rebounding may not have been an issue had the Hawks shot the ball well, but St. Joe’s connected on just a single three-pointer out of 19 attempts, and shot just 33 percent on the night.
Meanwhile, Xavier cleaned up the Hawk misfires as four different Musketeers collected at least eight rebounds, with Jason Love (15 pts, 12 reb) leading the way with a game-high 12 boards.
Xavier established itself early inside, with Love tallying the first points, and Jordan Crawford (20 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast) driving and scoring. Terrell Holloway (6 pts, 6 ast) capped the 7-0 lead for Xavier with a three with 18:02 left in the first half. The Musketeers continued the onslaught, building the early lead to 18-4 off a pair of Mark Lyons (19 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast) free throws.
St. Joe’s would switch to a zone, however, causing the Musketeers into a flood of careless turnovers. The Hawks capitalized, going on a 13-2 run that would bring them within three, 20-17, with 11:03 left in the first half. Chris Prescott (9 pts, 3 ast) led the run with five.
Xavier would regain control, going on a 14-2 run over the next seven-plus minutes to extend their lead to 15, 34-19. The Hawks were ice cold over the span, with Xavier corralling nearly every miss and taking it the other way. Five different Musketeers scored on the run. Xavier kept the double-digit lead this time, heading into the halftime intermission with a 40-28 cushion.
St. Joe’s cut Xavier’s lead to 11, 45-34, in the first few minutes of the second half, but a 12-0 run spurred by Love, Crawford and Lyons extended Xavier’s lead to 23, 57-34, to effectively put the game out of reach with just under 14 to play.
A jumper from Carl Jones (8 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast) brought the Hawks to within 19, 67-48, with 6:15 to play, but a debilitating 18-0 run, led by Lyons’ three three-pointers, put Xavier up 37 with just over a minute left to put the game away. Brad Redford (3 points) canned his only points of the game to provide the final margin.
Xavier’s starting frontcourt of Love and Jamel McLean (14 pts, 9 reb) wrought havoc on the Hawks, with the two combining to shoot 12-for-15 from the field for 29 points. The two also out-rebounded the entire St. Joseph team.
While Love recorded his seventh double-double of the season, McLean narrowly missed another, finishing with nine boards to his 14 points. Though he only recorded two points, Kenny Frease (2 pts, 9 reb) finished with nine rebounds -- four of which were on the offensive end.
Crawford led all scorers with 20, followed by a career-high 19 from Lyons. Love and McLean rounded out the Xavier double-figure scorers with 15 and 14, respectively.
Garrett Williamson (17 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast) was the lone Hawk in double figures with 17.
Xavier will return to the road Saturday to take on the Charlotte 49ers at 2 p.m. at Halton Arena. Last month in the teams’ previous meeting, the Musketeers up-ended the 49ers, 86-74. The 49ers (18-7, 8-3) are coming off an 83-77 loss at home Wednesday night to the Duquesne Dukes.
By Mike Damone
After a daunting three-game stretch of road contests – which saw the Musketeers finish a respectable 2-1 – and just before a pivotal three-game swing against members of the Atlantic 10’s upper half, Xavier was greeted with a match-up Wednesday night that should, on paper, have helped reinforce its place among the conference’s top three.
The St. Joseph’s Hawks (9-17, 3-9) came into the Cintas Center as one of the Atlantic 10’s worst rebounding teams, which ultimately spelled their demise as the bigger, stronger Musketeers throttled the Hawks on the boards, 53-17, en route to an 88-52 Xavier victory.
Rebounding may not have been an issue had the Hawks shot the ball well, but St. Joe’s connected on just a single three-pointer out of 19 attempts, and shot just 33 percent on the night.
Meanwhile, Xavier cleaned up the Hawk misfires as four different Musketeers collected at least eight rebounds, with Jason Love (15 pts, 12 reb) leading the way with a game-high 12 boards.
Xavier established itself early inside, with Love tallying the first points, and Jordan Crawford (20 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast) driving and scoring. Terrell Holloway (6 pts, 6 ast) capped the 7-0 lead for Xavier with a three with 18:02 left in the first half. The Musketeers continued the onslaught, building the early lead to 18-4 off a pair of Mark Lyons (19 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast) free throws.
St. Joe’s would switch to a zone, however, causing the Musketeers into a flood of careless turnovers. The Hawks capitalized, going on a 13-2 run that would bring them within three, 20-17, with 11:03 left in the first half. Chris Prescott (9 pts, 3 ast) led the run with five.
Xavier would regain control, going on a 14-2 run over the next seven-plus minutes to extend their lead to 15, 34-19. The Hawks were ice cold over the span, with Xavier corralling nearly every miss and taking it the other way. Five different Musketeers scored on the run. Xavier kept the double-digit lead this time, heading into the halftime intermission with a 40-28 cushion.
St. Joe’s cut Xavier’s lead to 11, 45-34, in the first few minutes of the second half, but a 12-0 run spurred by Love, Crawford and Lyons extended Xavier’s lead to 23, 57-34, to effectively put the game out of reach with just under 14 to play.
A jumper from Carl Jones (8 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast) brought the Hawks to within 19, 67-48, with 6:15 to play, but a debilitating 18-0 run, led by Lyons’ three three-pointers, put Xavier up 37 with just over a minute left to put the game away. Brad Redford (3 points) canned his only points of the game to provide the final margin.
Xavier’s starting frontcourt of Love and Jamel McLean (14 pts, 9 reb) wrought havoc on the Hawks, with the two combining to shoot 12-for-15 from the field for 29 points. The two also out-rebounded the entire St. Joseph team.
While Love recorded his seventh double-double of the season, McLean narrowly missed another, finishing with nine boards to his 14 points. Though he only recorded two points, Kenny Frease (2 pts, 9 reb) finished with nine rebounds -- four of which were on the offensive end.
Crawford led all scorers with 20, followed by a career-high 19 from Lyons. Love and McLean rounded out the Xavier double-figure scorers with 15 and 14, respectively.
Garrett Williamson (17 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast) was the lone Hawk in double figures with 17.
Xavier will return to the road Saturday to take on the Charlotte 49ers at 2 p.m. at Halton Arena. Last month in the teams’ previous meeting, the Musketeers up-ended the 49ers, 86-74. The 49ers (18-7, 8-3) are coming off an 83-77 loss at home Wednesday night to the Duquesne Dukes.