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02-25-2010, 01:18 AM
Musketeers halt streaking St. Louis, 73-71
by Mike Damone
With nary an A-10 team escaping the daunting Chaifetz Arena with a win so far this season, the Xavier Musketeers simply refused to play the role of victim.
The Billikens (18-9, 9-4) entered Wednesday night’s match-up against the Muskteers (20-7, 11-2) with a nearly flawless 14-1 record at their on-campus venue this season, and previous winners of six straight. After trailing for much of the game, the Musketeers put together a decisive 16-0 second-half run that gave them the lead for good, and handed the Billikens just their fifth loss in 33 games in the Chaifetz’s brief history, 73-71.
The Musketeers trailed the Bills, 34-28, at the intermission, but worked to make the second half their own. The inside-out duo of Jordan Crawford (26 pts, 5 reb) and Jason Love (21 pts, 9 reb) provided the second half’s first four points, trimming Xavier’s deficit to two, 34-32.
Xavier came very close on several occasions later in the second half, twice cutting the Bills’ lead to two or less, but St. Louis often answered with the big shot to extend their lead. After a pair of Terrell Holloway (9 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) free throws cut SLU’s advantage to one, 37-36, Kwamain Mitchell (21 pts, 4 ast, 3 reb) responded with a three to put the Bills up four.
When Crawford hit a fallaway jumper in the lane, Justin Jordan (6 points) splashed a three on the other end to but SLU back up four with 15:37 to go. When Love hit a babyhook, Christian Salecich (2 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast) responded with a layup to but the Bills up, 47-43.
After Holloway drained a three from the corner, Willie Reed (18 pts, 13 reb, 4 blk) backed his way inside for a short jumper with 12:36 to go. This time, however, the Musketeers didn’t feel much like giving back.
Holloway drove and hit a circus-like shot as he was falling, and on Xavier’s next possession, Love put back a Crawford miss to give Xavier its first lead since the game’s opening seconds, 50-49, with 11 minutes to go.
Holloway next drove through the Bills defense for a layup, and after a Mark Lyons (4 points) steal, Crawford buried a three from the corner to give Xavier a six-point lead, 55-49.
The Musketeers were hardly done.
Off another Xavier steal, Lyons scored on the fastbreak to extend Xavier’s lead, and Love muscled in another bucket as he was being dragged to the floor to put the Musketeers up 10, 59-49. Crawford capped the energizing 16-0 run with another three to stun the raucous crowd and put Xavier up 13, 62-49.
The Bills went without a point for more than five minutes during that span, before Reed broke the drought with a long jumper, and Cody Ellis (19 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) followed with another jump shot from the baseline to bring SLU to within nine with 6:37 to go.
And with 4:18 to go, it became increasingly obvious the Musketeers weren’t walking away with anything. After Jamel McLean (7 pts, 6 reb) scored on a put-back to put Xavier back up 10, 66-56, he was whistled for a technical foul as he was heading back down the floor, though it was unclear on the replay whether McLean uttered a word to opposing player or official.
Nevertheless, Ellis sank both technical free throws, and Mitchell scored on the ensuing possession to bring the Bills to within six, 66-60, and the partisan crowd to their feet. Crawford quickly squelched the momentum with a three to put Xavier back up nine.
But SLU continued to threaten Xavier’s lead, and after Crawford scored on a runner to put Xavier up seven, the Bills went on a 5-0 run to cut Xavier’s lead to two, 71-69, with just a minute left.
SLU set up for a potential game-winner after Love’s next shot went begging, but Mitchell’s offering rimmed out, with Love corralling the rebound and calling a timeout from the floor amidst the scrum. Xavier had trouble on the in-bound out of the timeout, but Love grabbed Crawford’s down-court, desperation heave, and was fouled with four seconds to go for a chance to ice the game.
In the face of the SLU student “white out,” the senior from Philadelphia calmly dropped both free throws – the second of which transformed the Chaifetz into a library – to send the Musketeers to their 20th win. Mitchell scored unabated as time expired to provide the final margin.
The win gives Xavier its fifth-straight 20-win season, and 13th out of the last 14.
The Billikens controlled the first half, thanks to an outstanding 7-for-12 clip from three. Mitchell, Ellis and Reed combined for 31 of SLU’s 34 first-half points, with Mitchell and Ellis going 6-for-9 from three in the first half.
Spurring the hot-shooting Billikens, Mitchell knocked down a three to give SLU a seven-point lead, 24-17, with under 10 minutes left in the first half, but the Xavier defense tightened as SLU went five minutes in the first half without a point.
Unfortunately for Xavier, they only scored six points in that span themselves, unable to substantially capitalize and wrestle away the lead. Mitchell made the Musketeers pay, canning his fourth three of the half to put SLU back up four before Jordan followed with another three to extend the Bills’ lead to seven, 30-23, with 2:04 left.
Love later trimmed Xavier’s deficit to four with a put-back, but Reed jammed home a Kyle Cassity (5 pts, 6 ast, 2 reb) feed to put SLU up six at the break. SLU finished the first half shooting 7-of-10 from three to Xavier’s 1-for-5.
SLU would still finish the game with a respectable 40 percent clip from downtown, but shot just 56 percent from the line. The Musketeers finished 45 percent from three, and 80 percent from the charity stripe.
Crawford led all scorers with 26 points, followed by a career-high 21 from Love. Mitchell led three Bills in double-figures with 21, followed by Ellis’ 19 and Reed’s 18. Reed would finish with a double-double.
The Musketeers made the most of their size advantage on the inside, holding a decisive 42-28 edge on the glass. SLU did an exceptional job distributing the basketball, dishing 17 assists to just six turnovers.
The road win for Xavier now sets up a monumental clash with the #23 Richmond Spiders on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Cintas Center. Currently, the Musketeers are in a three-way tie with the Spiders and Temple Owls atop the Atlantic 10 standings. In last year’s meeting, the Spiders stunned the Musketeers, 80-75, at the Robins Center. The Spiders (22-6, 11-2) are coming off a 74-70 win over George Washington on Saturday. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
by Mike Damone
With nary an A-10 team escaping the daunting Chaifetz Arena with a win so far this season, the Xavier Musketeers simply refused to play the role of victim.
The Billikens (18-9, 9-4) entered Wednesday night’s match-up against the Muskteers (20-7, 11-2) with a nearly flawless 14-1 record at their on-campus venue this season, and previous winners of six straight. After trailing for much of the game, the Musketeers put together a decisive 16-0 second-half run that gave them the lead for good, and handed the Billikens just their fifth loss in 33 games in the Chaifetz’s brief history, 73-71.
The Musketeers trailed the Bills, 34-28, at the intermission, but worked to make the second half their own. The inside-out duo of Jordan Crawford (26 pts, 5 reb) and Jason Love (21 pts, 9 reb) provided the second half’s first four points, trimming Xavier’s deficit to two, 34-32.
Xavier came very close on several occasions later in the second half, twice cutting the Bills’ lead to two or less, but St. Louis often answered with the big shot to extend their lead. After a pair of Terrell Holloway (9 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) free throws cut SLU’s advantage to one, 37-36, Kwamain Mitchell (21 pts, 4 ast, 3 reb) responded with a three to put the Bills up four.
When Crawford hit a fallaway jumper in the lane, Justin Jordan (6 points) splashed a three on the other end to but SLU back up four with 15:37 to go. When Love hit a babyhook, Christian Salecich (2 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast) responded with a layup to but the Bills up, 47-43.
After Holloway drained a three from the corner, Willie Reed (18 pts, 13 reb, 4 blk) backed his way inside for a short jumper with 12:36 to go. This time, however, the Musketeers didn’t feel much like giving back.
Holloway drove and hit a circus-like shot as he was falling, and on Xavier’s next possession, Love put back a Crawford miss to give Xavier its first lead since the game’s opening seconds, 50-49, with 11 minutes to go.
Holloway next drove through the Bills defense for a layup, and after a Mark Lyons (4 points) steal, Crawford buried a three from the corner to give Xavier a six-point lead, 55-49.
The Musketeers were hardly done.
Off another Xavier steal, Lyons scored on the fastbreak to extend Xavier’s lead, and Love muscled in another bucket as he was being dragged to the floor to put the Musketeers up 10, 59-49. Crawford capped the energizing 16-0 run with another three to stun the raucous crowd and put Xavier up 13, 62-49.
The Bills went without a point for more than five minutes during that span, before Reed broke the drought with a long jumper, and Cody Ellis (19 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) followed with another jump shot from the baseline to bring SLU to within nine with 6:37 to go.
And with 4:18 to go, it became increasingly obvious the Musketeers weren’t walking away with anything. After Jamel McLean (7 pts, 6 reb) scored on a put-back to put Xavier back up 10, 66-56, he was whistled for a technical foul as he was heading back down the floor, though it was unclear on the replay whether McLean uttered a word to opposing player or official.
Nevertheless, Ellis sank both technical free throws, and Mitchell scored on the ensuing possession to bring the Bills to within six, 66-60, and the partisan crowd to their feet. Crawford quickly squelched the momentum with a three to put Xavier back up nine.
But SLU continued to threaten Xavier’s lead, and after Crawford scored on a runner to put Xavier up seven, the Bills went on a 5-0 run to cut Xavier’s lead to two, 71-69, with just a minute left.
SLU set up for a potential game-winner after Love’s next shot went begging, but Mitchell’s offering rimmed out, with Love corralling the rebound and calling a timeout from the floor amidst the scrum. Xavier had trouble on the in-bound out of the timeout, but Love grabbed Crawford’s down-court, desperation heave, and was fouled with four seconds to go for a chance to ice the game.
In the face of the SLU student “white out,” the senior from Philadelphia calmly dropped both free throws – the second of which transformed the Chaifetz into a library – to send the Musketeers to their 20th win. Mitchell scored unabated as time expired to provide the final margin.
The win gives Xavier its fifth-straight 20-win season, and 13th out of the last 14.
The Billikens controlled the first half, thanks to an outstanding 7-for-12 clip from three. Mitchell, Ellis and Reed combined for 31 of SLU’s 34 first-half points, with Mitchell and Ellis going 6-for-9 from three in the first half.
Spurring the hot-shooting Billikens, Mitchell knocked down a three to give SLU a seven-point lead, 24-17, with under 10 minutes left in the first half, but the Xavier defense tightened as SLU went five minutes in the first half without a point.
Unfortunately for Xavier, they only scored six points in that span themselves, unable to substantially capitalize and wrestle away the lead. Mitchell made the Musketeers pay, canning his fourth three of the half to put SLU back up four before Jordan followed with another three to extend the Bills’ lead to seven, 30-23, with 2:04 left.
Love later trimmed Xavier’s deficit to four with a put-back, but Reed jammed home a Kyle Cassity (5 pts, 6 ast, 2 reb) feed to put SLU up six at the break. SLU finished the first half shooting 7-of-10 from three to Xavier’s 1-for-5.
SLU would still finish the game with a respectable 40 percent clip from downtown, but shot just 56 percent from the line. The Musketeers finished 45 percent from three, and 80 percent from the charity stripe.
Crawford led all scorers with 26 points, followed by a career-high 21 from Love. Mitchell led three Bills in double-figures with 21, followed by Ellis’ 19 and Reed’s 18. Reed would finish with a double-double.
The Musketeers made the most of their size advantage on the inside, holding a decisive 42-28 edge on the glass. SLU did an exceptional job distributing the basketball, dishing 17 assists to just six turnovers.
The road win for Xavier now sets up a monumental clash with the #23 Richmond Spiders on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Cintas Center. Currently, the Musketeers are in a three-way tie with the Spiders and Temple Owls atop the Atlantic 10 standings. In last year’s meeting, the Spiders stunned the Musketeers, 80-75, at the Robins Center. The Spiders (22-6, 11-2) are coming off a 74-70 win over George Washington on Saturday. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.