kyxu
02-03-2008, 02:35 PM
#15 Musketeers exploit balance, best La Salle, 75-62
by kyxu
It was hardly a thing of beauty, but on a day in the Atlantic 10 that saw a few of the conference’s more competitive teams go down, the 15th-ranked Musketeers would gladly take the victory.
Xavier (18-4, 6-1) used their trademark balance and solid free-throw shooting (22-for-29) to pull away from the La Salle Explorers (8-12, 3-4), 75-62, on Saturday evening at the Cintas Center. The Musketeers, now 15-0 when four or more players score in double-figures, had six players do as such, lead by CJ Anderson’s 16 points and seven rebounds.
Equally notable was the defensive performance of Stanley Burrell (11 pts, 4 assists), holding the Explorers’ red-hot Darnell Harris to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting. Harris, who came into the game averaging 16.4 points per game, was coming off a 23-point effort against St. Bonaventure, where he went 7-for-7 from long range. Tonight, however, Burrell and Drew Lavender forced Harris into an 0-for-4 performance from beyond the arc.
Despite Harris’ lack of offensive success, the Explorers were still able to make life difficult for the Musketeers. Rodney Green scored a game-high 18 points off 8-of-13 shooting, and often played the role of spoiler whenever Xavier threatened to pull away.
The game started well for the Musketeers, as Derrick Brown (11 pts, 7 reb) opened the scoring with a strong dunk and foul from the left side, which he made good on the free throw, to give the Musketeers a 3-0 lead. Green would respond, and the Explorers would keep the game close for the entire first half, with Xavier never leading by more than seven. In fact, La Salle took a 20-16 lead off a Kimmani Barrett tip-in.
Xavier then answered with a 17-4 run that included two three-pointers from Lavender (10 pts, 5 assists) as well as a steal and lay-up from the diminutive Xavier point guard. Josh Duncan (12 pts, 6 reb) came out of the ensuing La Salle timeout with a jam off a feed from Burrell, and Anderson scored twice inside to give Xavier a 33-24 lead.
The Explorers would not go quietly, as they adjusted from a poor night from long distance to shoot nearly 49 percent from inside the arc. Xavier held a seven-point lead at halftime, which they would push to as much as 13 five-and-a-half minutes into the second half, but the Explorers would cut Xavier’s lead to just four points, 59-55, when Yves Mekongo-Mbala (13 pts, 11 reb) was fouled in the act behind the three-point line, converting two of the three freebies.
Raymond answered the Explorers’ run with a three, his only bucket of the game, which provided a devastating blow to La Salle’s momentum. The Muskies would hold off any remnants of an Explorer rally by icing the game from the line. Burrell went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe to help keep Xavier a perfect 4-0 at home in conference play.
Jason Love capped off the balanced offensive attack with 10 points, despite being limited by foul trouble. Jerrell Williams added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Explorers, who were also the first team since Temple to out-rebound Xavier, 29-27.
Though they are tied atop the Atlantic 10 standings with the St. Joseph’s Hawks, Xavier must now travel to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, a place where they have yet to win in conference play, to take on the St. Louis Billikens at 9 p.m. on Thursday. The enigmatic Billikens (12-9, 3-4) are coming off a 71-59 win over UMass, yet achieved a degree of infamy on January 10, 2008, for their historic 20-point output in a 29-point loss at George Washington.
by kyxu
It was hardly a thing of beauty, but on a day in the Atlantic 10 that saw a few of the conference’s more competitive teams go down, the 15th-ranked Musketeers would gladly take the victory.
Xavier (18-4, 6-1) used their trademark balance and solid free-throw shooting (22-for-29) to pull away from the La Salle Explorers (8-12, 3-4), 75-62, on Saturday evening at the Cintas Center. The Musketeers, now 15-0 when four or more players score in double-figures, had six players do as such, lead by CJ Anderson’s 16 points and seven rebounds.
Equally notable was the defensive performance of Stanley Burrell (11 pts, 4 assists), holding the Explorers’ red-hot Darnell Harris to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting. Harris, who came into the game averaging 16.4 points per game, was coming off a 23-point effort against St. Bonaventure, where he went 7-for-7 from long range. Tonight, however, Burrell and Drew Lavender forced Harris into an 0-for-4 performance from beyond the arc.
Despite Harris’ lack of offensive success, the Explorers were still able to make life difficult for the Musketeers. Rodney Green scored a game-high 18 points off 8-of-13 shooting, and often played the role of spoiler whenever Xavier threatened to pull away.
The game started well for the Musketeers, as Derrick Brown (11 pts, 7 reb) opened the scoring with a strong dunk and foul from the left side, which he made good on the free throw, to give the Musketeers a 3-0 lead. Green would respond, and the Explorers would keep the game close for the entire first half, with Xavier never leading by more than seven. In fact, La Salle took a 20-16 lead off a Kimmani Barrett tip-in.
Xavier then answered with a 17-4 run that included two three-pointers from Lavender (10 pts, 5 assists) as well as a steal and lay-up from the diminutive Xavier point guard. Josh Duncan (12 pts, 6 reb) came out of the ensuing La Salle timeout with a jam off a feed from Burrell, and Anderson scored twice inside to give Xavier a 33-24 lead.
The Explorers would not go quietly, as they adjusted from a poor night from long distance to shoot nearly 49 percent from inside the arc. Xavier held a seven-point lead at halftime, which they would push to as much as 13 five-and-a-half minutes into the second half, but the Explorers would cut Xavier’s lead to just four points, 59-55, when Yves Mekongo-Mbala (13 pts, 11 reb) was fouled in the act behind the three-point line, converting two of the three freebies.
Raymond answered the Explorers’ run with a three, his only bucket of the game, which provided a devastating blow to La Salle’s momentum. The Muskies would hold off any remnants of an Explorer rally by icing the game from the line. Burrell went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe to help keep Xavier a perfect 4-0 at home in conference play.
Jason Love capped off the balanced offensive attack with 10 points, despite being limited by foul trouble. Jerrell Williams added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Explorers, who were also the first team since Temple to out-rebound Xavier, 29-27.
Though they are tied atop the Atlantic 10 standings with the St. Joseph’s Hawks, Xavier must now travel to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, a place where they have yet to win in conference play, to take on the St. Louis Billikens at 9 p.m. on Thursday. The enigmatic Billikens (12-9, 3-4) are coming off a 71-59 win over UMass, yet achieved a degree of infamy on January 10, 2008, for their historic 20-point output in a 29-point loss at George Washington.