kyxu
02-10-2008, 10:32 PM
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj89/xhoops/db19e87b-2fc7-45db-abc3-1e0894237ef.jpg
#13 Xavier rides late rally to ward off St. Joe’s, 76-72
By kyxu
On a day that was meant to honor the 1958 NIT Champion Xavier Musketeers, consider it an homage to bygone glory with the manner this year’s edition pulled out a gritty 76-72 win over the second-place St. Joseph’s Hawks (15-7, 6-3) on Saturday afternoon at the Cintas Center.
With just over two minutes on the clock and the Musketeers (20-4, 8-1) trailing, 72-68, after leading by as many as 14 in the first half, the 1958 squad could have schooled today’s Musketeers on a lesson in grit. The Hawks’ stingy defense shut down any offensive flow to which the Musketeers had been accustomed in the first half, and took firm control of the game in the second. Xavier entered halftime with 12 assists to just three turnovers, but SJU induced X into eight more in the second half to just nine assists. But as the game clock moved closer to two minutes, Xavier’s offense found its legs, scoring the final eight points of the game to give Xavier its sixth-straight win, keeping it firmly atop the Atlantic 10 standings.
With Xavier trailing by four with 2:18 left, BJ Raymond (11 pts, 4 reb) corralled a long rebound off a missed Stanley Burrell (16 pts, 4 assists) three. Josh Duncan (13 pts, 4 reb) was fed the ball, scored the basket and was fouled in the process. Duncan converted the free throw with just 1:26 left, cutting the St. Joe’s lead to one.
On the next possession, Jason Love (2 pts, 8 reb) rebounded a missed Pat Calathes jumper to give the Musketeers their chance to set up this week’s version of the “tip-in,” tantamount in significance to Derrick’s Brown’s game-winner just three days prior. With the game clock winding under a minute, Burrell kicked the ball out to Drew Lavender (12 pts, 4 assists) who passed off to Raymond alone in the left corner. Raymond knocked down the three, blowing the roof off the Cintas Center, and giving Xavier the lead for good, with just under 41 seconds to go.
St. Joe’s called a timeout to set up a shot, but the Hawks’ Tasheed Carr (10 pts, 5 assists, 5 reb) dribbled to the baseline, was trapped by the Xavier defense, and forced to call another timeout. Out of the inbounds, SJU’s Darrin Govens (7 pts) lost the handle, and Burrell was fouled by Pat Calathes (16 pts, 7 reb) on the scramble. Burrell calmly dropped both freebies to ice the game, and the Hawks’ desperation shots rimmed out as time expired.
Earlier in the second half, the Musketeers were able to get a stop here, a basket there, but rarely the two consecutively. As a result, SJU was able to rally and even stretch their lead to as many seven points with close to 11 minutes to go in the game. Each time Xavier would chip into the lead, they would give up a bucket on the other end, or their offense would stall for minutes at a time.
Adrion Graves’ (3 pts) three gave Xavier its largest lead of the game, 39-25, with about two-and-a-half minutes to play in the first half. But SJU answered right back with a Rob Ferguson (18 pts) triple, which was part of a 7-0 SJU run that cut the Xavier lead to seven. Xavier could have mitigated SJU’s run with made free throws, but the Muskies went just 2-for-5 from the line in the first half, to St. Joe’s 6-for-8. CJ Anderson (6 pts) answered with a bucket just before the intermission to extend Xavier’s lead back to nine, 41-32.
St. Joe’s began the second-half on an astounding 14-2 run, to give the Hawks a three-point lead, 46-43. Xavier spent much of the second-half playing catch-up, but took a brief lead off Burrell’s wide-open three from the left wing, to make it 65-62. SJU would re-claim the lead with a 6-0 run, and later lead by four with over two minutes left before Xavier’s defense tightened, allowing their offense to bring the game home with the game-deciding run. Xavier was out-rebounded by St. Joe's, 28-22, but shot a blistering 12-for-20 from three. Burrell lead the Musketeers in scoring, while Ferguson's 18 paced the Hawks' offense.
The win gives Xavier a relatively commanding two-game lead in the ultra-competitive, ultra-cannibalistic Atlantic 10 conference. And once again, Xavier has little time to rest, with a trip to third-place Charlotte on the horizon for Wednesday evening at 7:30. The 49ers (14-8, 5-3) are coming off an 87-83 victory at St. Bonaventure, and boast one of the conference’s top scorers in Leemire Goldwire, who averages 19.7 points per game.
#13 Xavier rides late rally to ward off St. Joe’s, 76-72
By kyxu
On a day that was meant to honor the 1958 NIT Champion Xavier Musketeers, consider it an homage to bygone glory with the manner this year’s edition pulled out a gritty 76-72 win over the second-place St. Joseph’s Hawks (15-7, 6-3) on Saturday afternoon at the Cintas Center.
With just over two minutes on the clock and the Musketeers (20-4, 8-1) trailing, 72-68, after leading by as many as 14 in the first half, the 1958 squad could have schooled today’s Musketeers on a lesson in grit. The Hawks’ stingy defense shut down any offensive flow to which the Musketeers had been accustomed in the first half, and took firm control of the game in the second. Xavier entered halftime with 12 assists to just three turnovers, but SJU induced X into eight more in the second half to just nine assists. But as the game clock moved closer to two minutes, Xavier’s offense found its legs, scoring the final eight points of the game to give Xavier its sixth-straight win, keeping it firmly atop the Atlantic 10 standings.
With Xavier trailing by four with 2:18 left, BJ Raymond (11 pts, 4 reb) corralled a long rebound off a missed Stanley Burrell (16 pts, 4 assists) three. Josh Duncan (13 pts, 4 reb) was fed the ball, scored the basket and was fouled in the process. Duncan converted the free throw with just 1:26 left, cutting the St. Joe’s lead to one.
On the next possession, Jason Love (2 pts, 8 reb) rebounded a missed Pat Calathes jumper to give the Musketeers their chance to set up this week’s version of the “tip-in,” tantamount in significance to Derrick’s Brown’s game-winner just three days prior. With the game clock winding under a minute, Burrell kicked the ball out to Drew Lavender (12 pts, 4 assists) who passed off to Raymond alone in the left corner. Raymond knocked down the three, blowing the roof off the Cintas Center, and giving Xavier the lead for good, with just under 41 seconds to go.
St. Joe’s called a timeout to set up a shot, but the Hawks’ Tasheed Carr (10 pts, 5 assists, 5 reb) dribbled to the baseline, was trapped by the Xavier defense, and forced to call another timeout. Out of the inbounds, SJU’s Darrin Govens (7 pts) lost the handle, and Burrell was fouled by Pat Calathes (16 pts, 7 reb) on the scramble. Burrell calmly dropped both freebies to ice the game, and the Hawks’ desperation shots rimmed out as time expired.
Earlier in the second half, the Musketeers were able to get a stop here, a basket there, but rarely the two consecutively. As a result, SJU was able to rally and even stretch their lead to as many seven points with close to 11 minutes to go in the game. Each time Xavier would chip into the lead, they would give up a bucket on the other end, or their offense would stall for minutes at a time.
Adrion Graves’ (3 pts) three gave Xavier its largest lead of the game, 39-25, with about two-and-a-half minutes to play in the first half. But SJU answered right back with a Rob Ferguson (18 pts) triple, which was part of a 7-0 SJU run that cut the Xavier lead to seven. Xavier could have mitigated SJU’s run with made free throws, but the Muskies went just 2-for-5 from the line in the first half, to St. Joe’s 6-for-8. CJ Anderson (6 pts) answered with a bucket just before the intermission to extend Xavier’s lead back to nine, 41-32.
St. Joe’s began the second-half on an astounding 14-2 run, to give the Hawks a three-point lead, 46-43. Xavier spent much of the second-half playing catch-up, but took a brief lead off Burrell’s wide-open three from the left wing, to make it 65-62. SJU would re-claim the lead with a 6-0 run, and later lead by four with over two minutes left before Xavier’s defense tightened, allowing their offense to bring the game home with the game-deciding run. Xavier was out-rebounded by St. Joe's, 28-22, but shot a blistering 12-for-20 from three. Burrell lead the Musketeers in scoring, while Ferguson's 18 paced the Hawks' offense.
The win gives Xavier a relatively commanding two-game lead in the ultra-competitive, ultra-cannibalistic Atlantic 10 conference. And once again, Xavier has little time to rest, with a trip to third-place Charlotte on the horizon for Wednesday evening at 7:30. The 49ers (14-8, 5-3) are coming off an 87-83 victory at St. Bonaventure, and boast one of the conference’s top scorers in Leemire Goldwire, who averages 19.7 points per game.