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03-02-2008, 01:59 AM
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#9 Xavier scrapes together historic win, 66-56
by Mike Damone
When looking back on what could be one of Xavier’s most magical seasons, it’s fortunate Saturday’s record-breaking win over the George Washington Colonials (9-15, 5-9) – a win that gave this year’s Musketeers the program record for most wins in a regular season – likely won’t be remembered by many Xavier fans as any highlight reel for the season. And though fans are welcomed to forget about Saturday night’s performance, Sean Miller’s 9th-ranked Musketeers (25-4, 13-1) would be best served not to.
Missed free throws, poor defensive rebounding, lots of turnovers and a big blown lead weren’t quite enough to halt Xavier’s 10-game winning streak – the longest of Miller’s tenure as Xavier’s head coach – but it was certainly enough to give the Musketeers pause heading into probably their most daunting conference match-up on Thursday against the St. Joseph’s Hawks in Philadelphia.
Though Xavier’s winning streak currently stands at 11 games, the pace of the Musketeers offense has been considerably slowed by the diminished playing time of point guard Drew Lavender due to a healing sprained ankle and now an upper-respiratory infection. The Xavier senior only played 16 minutes, and at one point left the Xavier bench in the first half to receive treatment in the locker room.
The silver lining, however, is that Xavier continues to win. Stanley Burrell (11 pts, 4 assists) has taken up a majority of the point guard duties in Lavender’s absence, and freshman Danté Jackson (3 pts) has emerged as a defensive sparkplug with the increased minutes. In addition, the Musketeer defense continues to tighten, holding their opponents to under 60 points for the third-consecutive game. Jason Love (12 pts, 10 reb) also played what Miller believed to be one of his best games of the year.
In the early going of Saturday’s game, in fact, it did not appear Xavier would miss a beat despite the ailing Lavender. Love scored the first four points of the game for the Musketeers, helping Xavier open the game with a 19-4 lead. A circus-shot by Josh Duncan (13 pts, 5 reb) gave Xavier its largest lead of the game, 29-11, with seven minutes left in the first half.
But like the previous match-up in Foggy Bottom, the Colonials would not go quietly back to DC. George Washington took off on a 12-0 run, capped by four points from Rob Diggs (19 pts, 8 reb), to cut Xavier’s lead to six with under three minutes left in the first.
The Musketeers would hold on for an eight-point halftime lead, but a Diggs three finished an 8-2 GW run to start the second half, cutting the Xavier lead to just two, 38-36, with 17-and-a-half to go. Xavier would score seven unanswered, thanks to four points from CJ Anderson (15 points), but George Washington would tie the game at 49 off a Xavier Alexander (3 pts, 7 reb) lay-up with under six-and-a-half left in the game.
An Anderson lay-up, a BJ Raymond (9 points) three and a pair of free throws from Duncan gave a bit of breathing room, but GW would once again cut into the Xavier lead when GW’s Wynton Witherspoon drilled a three from the wing to make the score 56-55 in favor of the Musketeers. Uncharacteristically poor free-throw shooting would plague the Musketeers, as they hit just two-for-four over the next 30 seconds to keep it a one-possession game, 59-56, leaving the door cracked for the Colonials. On the game, Xavier shot just 55.2 percent from the line, their worst such performance of the season.
The Musketeers would finally put the Colonials to bed, going on an 8-1 run over the final minute-and-a-half, mostly from free throws, to close out the game. A crucial moment came with Xavier clinging to a five-point lead and Anderson leading a fastbreak opportunity off a steal. Anderson’s pull-up didn’t fall, but Burrell tipped in the miss to put the game away. Diggs of GW lead all scorers with 19 points, while Anderson paced the Musketeers with 15.
Xavier hits the road for their final conference away game to take on the St. Joseph’s Hawks (17-9, 8-5) on Thursday on Hawk Hill. The Musketeers won the previous match-up on February 10, 2008, 76-72, in an intense game that saw the Musketeers rally to score the game’s final eight points to pull away. Now, there is great concern whether a Xavier offense sans Lavender will be productive enough for the Musketeers to steal one in Philadelphia. The Hawks are coming off a surprising 64-55 loss at home to the St. Louis Billikens – a loss that ultimately gave the Atlantic 10 regular season title outright to Xavier.
#9 Xavier scrapes together historic win, 66-56
by Mike Damone
When looking back on what could be one of Xavier’s most magical seasons, it’s fortunate Saturday’s record-breaking win over the George Washington Colonials (9-15, 5-9) – a win that gave this year’s Musketeers the program record for most wins in a regular season – likely won’t be remembered by many Xavier fans as any highlight reel for the season. And though fans are welcomed to forget about Saturday night’s performance, Sean Miller’s 9th-ranked Musketeers (25-4, 13-1) would be best served not to.
Missed free throws, poor defensive rebounding, lots of turnovers and a big blown lead weren’t quite enough to halt Xavier’s 10-game winning streak – the longest of Miller’s tenure as Xavier’s head coach – but it was certainly enough to give the Musketeers pause heading into probably their most daunting conference match-up on Thursday against the St. Joseph’s Hawks in Philadelphia.
Though Xavier’s winning streak currently stands at 11 games, the pace of the Musketeers offense has been considerably slowed by the diminished playing time of point guard Drew Lavender due to a healing sprained ankle and now an upper-respiratory infection. The Xavier senior only played 16 minutes, and at one point left the Xavier bench in the first half to receive treatment in the locker room.
The silver lining, however, is that Xavier continues to win. Stanley Burrell (11 pts, 4 assists) has taken up a majority of the point guard duties in Lavender’s absence, and freshman Danté Jackson (3 pts) has emerged as a defensive sparkplug with the increased minutes. In addition, the Musketeer defense continues to tighten, holding their opponents to under 60 points for the third-consecutive game. Jason Love (12 pts, 10 reb) also played what Miller believed to be one of his best games of the year.
In the early going of Saturday’s game, in fact, it did not appear Xavier would miss a beat despite the ailing Lavender. Love scored the first four points of the game for the Musketeers, helping Xavier open the game with a 19-4 lead. A circus-shot by Josh Duncan (13 pts, 5 reb) gave Xavier its largest lead of the game, 29-11, with seven minutes left in the first half.
But like the previous match-up in Foggy Bottom, the Colonials would not go quietly back to DC. George Washington took off on a 12-0 run, capped by four points from Rob Diggs (19 pts, 8 reb), to cut Xavier’s lead to six with under three minutes left in the first.
The Musketeers would hold on for an eight-point halftime lead, but a Diggs three finished an 8-2 GW run to start the second half, cutting the Xavier lead to just two, 38-36, with 17-and-a-half to go. Xavier would score seven unanswered, thanks to four points from CJ Anderson (15 points), but George Washington would tie the game at 49 off a Xavier Alexander (3 pts, 7 reb) lay-up with under six-and-a-half left in the game.
An Anderson lay-up, a BJ Raymond (9 points) three and a pair of free throws from Duncan gave a bit of breathing room, but GW would once again cut into the Xavier lead when GW’s Wynton Witherspoon drilled a three from the wing to make the score 56-55 in favor of the Musketeers. Uncharacteristically poor free-throw shooting would plague the Musketeers, as they hit just two-for-four over the next 30 seconds to keep it a one-possession game, 59-56, leaving the door cracked for the Colonials. On the game, Xavier shot just 55.2 percent from the line, their worst such performance of the season.
The Musketeers would finally put the Colonials to bed, going on an 8-1 run over the final minute-and-a-half, mostly from free throws, to close out the game. A crucial moment came with Xavier clinging to a five-point lead and Anderson leading a fastbreak opportunity off a steal. Anderson’s pull-up didn’t fall, but Burrell tipped in the miss to put the game away. Diggs of GW lead all scorers with 19 points, while Anderson paced the Musketeers with 15.
Xavier hits the road for their final conference away game to take on the St. Joseph’s Hawks (17-9, 8-5) on Thursday on Hawk Hill. The Musketeers won the previous match-up on February 10, 2008, 76-72, in an intense game that saw the Musketeers rally to score the game’s final eight points to pull away. Now, there is great concern whether a Xavier offense sans Lavender will be productive enough for the Musketeers to steal one in Philadelphia. The Hawks are coming off a surprising 64-55 loss at home to the St. Louis Billikens – a loss that ultimately gave the Atlantic 10 regular season title outright to Xavier.