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03-27-2010, 03:48 PM
Pullen, #2 K-State claw last in double-OT thriller, 101-96
by Mike Damone
Though the difference was jarring between the Musketeers that were throttled in Manhattan in December, and the Musketeers that took the 2-seed Kansas State Wildcats through two overtimes in Salt Lake City, Xavier (26-9) will likely take little solace in their 101-96 loss Thursday night.
But there was certainly satisfaction in the fight, as both teams fought through 13 ties and 17 lead changes in 50 minutes of action in possibly the most epic battle of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Heroes were made, or affirmed, with Musketeers like Jordan Crawford (32 pts, 2 ast, 2 reb) and Terrell Holloway (26 pts, 6 ast, 4 reb) exchanging basketball blows with Wildcats like Jacob Pullen (28 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast), Denis Clemente (25 pts, 5 ast, 5 reb) and Curtis Kelly (21 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast).
The lucky few who were a part of the game likened it to a heavyweight battle, with the pugilists bloodied to a pulp and barely able to stand at the final bell.
But when the fists fell and the players slinked to their respective benches barely able to walk, the Wildcats had delivered the final blow, ending Xavier’s unexpectedly outstanding season and continuing their own historic run to the weekend’s Elite Eight.
The opening moments of Thursday night’s contest did not forebode a slugfest, as the Musketeers resembled the little guy getting shoved on the playground rather than a worthy adversary for the Wildcats, as Kansas State raced out to a hegemonic 19-4 lead eight minutes in.
The elusive backcourt tandem of Pullen and Clemente shook loose for open jumpers, while the interior of Kelly, Wally Judge (4 pts, 5 reb) and Jamar Samuels (14 pts, 5 reb) seemed omnipresent on the interior with offensive boards and stick-backs.
Meanwhile, the Musketeers struggled in missing nine of their first 11 field goal attempts, until Dante Jackson (11 pts, 4 reb) stopped the bleeding with a three from the wing to bring Xavier to within 12, 19-7.
Then Xavier began to make a stand. Jamel McLean (5 pts, 7 reb) followed with a pair of free throws after being fouled on an offensive rebound, Jackson forced a steal and found Crawford for the fastbreak lay-up and Holloway answered a Clemente jumper with a triple to suddenly bring Xavier to within six, 21-15, with under nine minutes left in the first half.
A layup from Kelly pushed K-State’s lead back to nine, but Xavier answered with a 13-3 run to close the half. Holloway started the run with another three, and Crawford cut through K-State’s transition defense for another bucket.
Free throws from McLean and Holloway gave Xavier its first lead of the game since the opening minutes, giving the Musketeers a 32-31 edge at the intermission.
The teams chipped at each other to start the second half before K-State got out to a six-point lead. Jackson got a block on Chris Merriewether’s (3 pts, 2 reb) lay-up attempt, but the offensive rebound was fed out to Pullen who dropped a three from the wing, and Clemente followed with a short jumper to put the Wildcats up, 42-36.
Xavier would cut into the Wildcats’ lead on several occasions, getting to within one, two or three points, but the Musketeers had their hands full stopping K-State on the defensive end.
A tip-in from Kelly with under nine minutes to go gave the Wildcats a seven-point lead, but Holloway found Jason Love (11 pts, 15 reb) inside for a jam, and Brad Redford (6 pts, 1 reb) got free for a trey to bring Xavier to within two, 56-54.
A Clemente jumper brought the Wildcats’ lead back to four, but a 5-0 Xavier run gave the Musketeers the slimmest of leads with a 59-58 advantage. Crawford buried a three and Andrew Taylor (3 pts, 5 reb) put Xavier on top with a pair of free throws with 5:31 to go in regulation.
Clemente answered again with a jumper, but Love put Xavier back up with a stick-back on an offensive rebound. With the shot clock winding down on K-State’s next possession, Clemente buried a three from the wing while drawing the foul. He would complete the four-point play to put K-State up, 64-61.
After Kelly missed a pair of free throws to extend K-State’s lead, Crawford buried a three to knot the game at 64 with just over three minutes to go. Kelly knocked down a long jumper to put K-State up, but Crawford answered again with a triple from the corner to give Xavier the lead, 67-66.
Both teams went scoreless for a minute and a half – an eternity of a scoring drought in a game of this ilk – but with the shot clock winding down and just 26 seconds to go, Pullen squared up his man and buried a three to put K-State up three, 70-67.
On Xavier’s next possession, Holloway managed to draw contact while heaving a long three-point attempt to give him a chance to tie it from the line. The point guard from Long Island calmly drained all three with three seconds left, and Pullen’s frantic three at the buzzer missed, sending the game to overtime.
The Musketeers struck quickly in overtime, with Crawford scoring off a feed from Holloway, but it would be Xavier’s only advantage of the first overtime. An exhausted Musketeer frontcourt – playing without McLean who was lost in the second half to foul trouble – was unable to stop Kansas State’s big, athletic post players.
K-State would eventually take a four-point lead, 78-74, off free throws from Kelly and Samuels after Xavier defenders were unable to keep the Wildcats’ frontcourt players in front on defense.
But Xavier continued to battle. When the Musketeers were unable to come up with defensive stops, they were forced to come up with big shots on the offensive end to say in the game, and often did just that. Holloway canned a three to bring Xavier to within one, 78-77, with 2:26 left in the first OT.
Samuels kept the Wildcats up three, 84-81, with a pair of free throws with just over a minute remaining, but Holloway again knotted the game with a three with 49 seconds left.
Pullen quickly responded with a baseline drive and lay-up, and Holloway missed on his next long-range attempt with a chance to give Xavier the lead. Merriewether grabbed the board and was quickly fouled, but went 1-for-2 from the line, keeping it a one-possession game with 19 seconds to go.
On Xavier’s final possession of the first overtime, the Musketeers had trouble finding an open look from the perimeter. Holloway couldn’t shake free, but passed it off to Crawford for a better look. Crawford squared up from the “American” ribbon logo about 35-feet from the basket, let fly and drained a massive three to tie the game again with six seconds left. Clemente raced down the floor for a final shot, but his potential game-winner rimmed out, sending it to another overtime.
Once again, Xavier struck first in the extra frame, with Crawford hitting a short jumper to put Xavier up, 89-87. But again, the Wildcats responded with Kelly hitting a long jumper to tie the game again. Kelly eventually gave K-State back the lead with a put-back slam off a Pullen miss with 3:21 left.
Crawford tied the game with a driving lay-up, and gave Xavier back the lead a minute and a half later with a jumper in the paint that rolled home with 1:32 left. But Pullen responded yet again, getting loose off a screen to bury a wide open three to put K-State up, 94-93.
Crawford’s three missed, but Love got the offensive rebound and was fouled trying for the put-back. A visibly-exhausted Love had a chance to give Xavier the lead from the line, but made only the second attempt to tie the game with 51 seconds left.
Pullen struck again, curling to the top of the key and connecting on another wide-open trey to give the Wildcats the lead for good, 97-94. A pair of free throws from Holloway brought Xavier to within a point, but Pullen pushed K-State’s lead back out to three, 99-96, with a pair of free throws with 24 seconds to go.
Jackson had a good look to tie the game again, but his three came up just short, and Clemente iced it with a pair of free throws to provide the final margin. The Musketeers’ final attempts to cut into K-State’s lead went begging as the final buzzer sounded, sending the Wildcats to their first Elite Eight in 22 years.
In an NCAA Tournament match-up many are already hailing as the best game in an already thrilling postseason, the Wildcats and Musketeers combined for an astounding 53 points in the overtime periods.
Crawford, in what many believe to be his final game in a Xavier uniform, led all scorers with 32 points. Holloway was the next highest Musketeer scorer with 26, followed by 11 apiece from Love and Jackson. Love appropriately recorded a double-double in his final game as a Musketeer.
Pullen led the Wildcats with 28 points, followed by 25 from Clemente and 21 from Kelly. Samuels also added 14 in the winning effort.
One major concern heading into the game for Xavier was rebounding, as they were pulverized on the boards at K-State last December. The Musketeers addressed that concern, out-rebounding the Wildcats, 51-40.
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by Mike Damone
Though the difference was jarring between the Musketeers that were throttled in Manhattan in December, and the Musketeers that took the 2-seed Kansas State Wildcats through two overtimes in Salt Lake City, Xavier (26-9) will likely take little solace in their 101-96 loss Thursday night.
But there was certainly satisfaction in the fight, as both teams fought through 13 ties and 17 lead changes in 50 minutes of action in possibly the most epic battle of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Heroes were made, or affirmed, with Musketeers like Jordan Crawford (32 pts, 2 ast, 2 reb) and Terrell Holloway (26 pts, 6 ast, 4 reb) exchanging basketball blows with Wildcats like Jacob Pullen (28 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast), Denis Clemente (25 pts, 5 ast, 5 reb) and Curtis Kelly (21 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast).
The lucky few who were a part of the game likened it to a heavyweight battle, with the pugilists bloodied to a pulp and barely able to stand at the final bell.
But when the fists fell and the players slinked to their respective benches barely able to walk, the Wildcats had delivered the final blow, ending Xavier’s unexpectedly outstanding season and continuing their own historic run to the weekend’s Elite Eight.
The opening moments of Thursday night’s contest did not forebode a slugfest, as the Musketeers resembled the little guy getting shoved on the playground rather than a worthy adversary for the Wildcats, as Kansas State raced out to a hegemonic 19-4 lead eight minutes in.
The elusive backcourt tandem of Pullen and Clemente shook loose for open jumpers, while the interior of Kelly, Wally Judge (4 pts, 5 reb) and Jamar Samuels (14 pts, 5 reb) seemed omnipresent on the interior with offensive boards and stick-backs.
Meanwhile, the Musketeers struggled in missing nine of their first 11 field goal attempts, until Dante Jackson (11 pts, 4 reb) stopped the bleeding with a three from the wing to bring Xavier to within 12, 19-7.
Then Xavier began to make a stand. Jamel McLean (5 pts, 7 reb) followed with a pair of free throws after being fouled on an offensive rebound, Jackson forced a steal and found Crawford for the fastbreak lay-up and Holloway answered a Clemente jumper with a triple to suddenly bring Xavier to within six, 21-15, with under nine minutes left in the first half.
A layup from Kelly pushed K-State’s lead back to nine, but Xavier answered with a 13-3 run to close the half. Holloway started the run with another three, and Crawford cut through K-State’s transition defense for another bucket.
Free throws from McLean and Holloway gave Xavier its first lead of the game since the opening minutes, giving the Musketeers a 32-31 edge at the intermission.
The teams chipped at each other to start the second half before K-State got out to a six-point lead. Jackson got a block on Chris Merriewether’s (3 pts, 2 reb) lay-up attempt, but the offensive rebound was fed out to Pullen who dropped a three from the wing, and Clemente followed with a short jumper to put the Wildcats up, 42-36.
Xavier would cut into the Wildcats’ lead on several occasions, getting to within one, two or three points, but the Musketeers had their hands full stopping K-State on the defensive end.
A tip-in from Kelly with under nine minutes to go gave the Wildcats a seven-point lead, but Holloway found Jason Love (11 pts, 15 reb) inside for a jam, and Brad Redford (6 pts, 1 reb) got free for a trey to bring Xavier to within two, 56-54.
A Clemente jumper brought the Wildcats’ lead back to four, but a 5-0 Xavier run gave the Musketeers the slimmest of leads with a 59-58 advantage. Crawford buried a three and Andrew Taylor (3 pts, 5 reb) put Xavier on top with a pair of free throws with 5:31 to go in regulation.
Clemente answered again with a jumper, but Love put Xavier back up with a stick-back on an offensive rebound. With the shot clock winding down on K-State’s next possession, Clemente buried a three from the wing while drawing the foul. He would complete the four-point play to put K-State up, 64-61.
After Kelly missed a pair of free throws to extend K-State’s lead, Crawford buried a three to knot the game at 64 with just over three minutes to go. Kelly knocked down a long jumper to put K-State up, but Crawford answered again with a triple from the corner to give Xavier the lead, 67-66.
Both teams went scoreless for a minute and a half – an eternity of a scoring drought in a game of this ilk – but with the shot clock winding down and just 26 seconds to go, Pullen squared up his man and buried a three to put K-State up three, 70-67.
On Xavier’s next possession, Holloway managed to draw contact while heaving a long three-point attempt to give him a chance to tie it from the line. The point guard from Long Island calmly drained all three with three seconds left, and Pullen’s frantic three at the buzzer missed, sending the game to overtime.
The Musketeers struck quickly in overtime, with Crawford scoring off a feed from Holloway, but it would be Xavier’s only advantage of the first overtime. An exhausted Musketeer frontcourt – playing without McLean who was lost in the second half to foul trouble – was unable to stop Kansas State’s big, athletic post players.
K-State would eventually take a four-point lead, 78-74, off free throws from Kelly and Samuels after Xavier defenders were unable to keep the Wildcats’ frontcourt players in front on defense.
But Xavier continued to battle. When the Musketeers were unable to come up with defensive stops, they were forced to come up with big shots on the offensive end to say in the game, and often did just that. Holloway canned a three to bring Xavier to within one, 78-77, with 2:26 left in the first OT.
Samuels kept the Wildcats up three, 84-81, with a pair of free throws with just over a minute remaining, but Holloway again knotted the game with a three with 49 seconds left.
Pullen quickly responded with a baseline drive and lay-up, and Holloway missed on his next long-range attempt with a chance to give Xavier the lead. Merriewether grabbed the board and was quickly fouled, but went 1-for-2 from the line, keeping it a one-possession game with 19 seconds to go.
On Xavier’s final possession of the first overtime, the Musketeers had trouble finding an open look from the perimeter. Holloway couldn’t shake free, but passed it off to Crawford for a better look. Crawford squared up from the “American” ribbon logo about 35-feet from the basket, let fly and drained a massive three to tie the game again with six seconds left. Clemente raced down the floor for a final shot, but his potential game-winner rimmed out, sending it to another overtime.
Once again, Xavier struck first in the extra frame, with Crawford hitting a short jumper to put Xavier up, 89-87. But again, the Wildcats responded with Kelly hitting a long jumper to tie the game again. Kelly eventually gave K-State back the lead with a put-back slam off a Pullen miss with 3:21 left.
Crawford tied the game with a driving lay-up, and gave Xavier back the lead a minute and a half later with a jumper in the paint that rolled home with 1:32 left. But Pullen responded yet again, getting loose off a screen to bury a wide open three to put K-State up, 94-93.
Crawford’s three missed, but Love got the offensive rebound and was fouled trying for the put-back. A visibly-exhausted Love had a chance to give Xavier the lead from the line, but made only the second attempt to tie the game with 51 seconds left.
Pullen struck again, curling to the top of the key and connecting on another wide-open trey to give the Wildcats the lead for good, 97-94. A pair of free throws from Holloway brought Xavier to within a point, but Pullen pushed K-State’s lead back out to three, 99-96, with a pair of free throws with 24 seconds to go.
Jackson had a good look to tie the game again, but his three came up just short, and Clemente iced it with a pair of free throws to provide the final margin. The Musketeers’ final attempts to cut into K-State’s lead went begging as the final buzzer sounded, sending the Wildcats to their first Elite Eight in 22 years.
In an NCAA Tournament match-up many are already hailing as the best game in an already thrilling postseason, the Wildcats and Musketeers combined for an astounding 53 points in the overtime periods.
Crawford, in what many believe to be his final game in a Xavier uniform, led all scorers with 32 points. Holloway was the next highest Musketeer scorer with 26, followed by 11 apiece from Love and Jackson. Love appropriately recorded a double-double in his final game as a Musketeer.
Pullen led the Wildcats with 28 points, followed by 25 from Clemente and 21 from Kelly. Samuels also added 14 in the winning effort.
One major concern heading into the game for Xavier was rebounding, as they were pulverized on the boards at K-State last December. The Musketeers addressed that concern, out-rebounding the Wildcats, 51-40.
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