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01-25-2009, 12:01 PM
Xavier frontcourt, defense batters Tigers on bayou, 80-70
By Mike Damone
A new moniker surfaced for the #15 Xavier Musketeers and their program Saturday night in their heated battle at a sold-out SEC venue that saw them withstand 10 ties, seven lead changes, a 17-game home winning streak and a hostile crowd to hold on for an 80-70 win: “culture of toughness”. During and after the dispatch of the LSU Tigers (15-4) on Saturday evening in front of a record-setting crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, ESPN commentator Fran Fraschilla used the term to describe Xavier’s history of tough defense, rebounding and finishing teams off in the clutch.
Such an ideal was manifest when a raucous, partisan crowd in purple and gold fell silent for much of the second half, when the Musketeers (17-2) held the Tigers without a field goal for more than nine minutes, overwhelmed the Tigers on the glass, and went on a modest run of their own to take control of the game and ice it from the free-throw line.
Despite LSU’s urgency in notching a “marquee win” against a top 25 team, the capacity crowd in their favor, and a 17-game home winning streak boasted by the hot SEC team, the “tough” Musketeers seemed unfazed, withstanding each Tiger charge with interior strength of their own and tight halfcourt defense.
With 15:23 remaining in the second half and both teams essentially trading leads, LSU’s Quinton Thornton (3 pts, 3 reb) made a short jumper over the Xavier trees to put the Tigers up, 47-46. It was a low-post battle indicative of the evening’s affairs, but it would also mark the beginning of the end for the Tigers, as LSU would not score from the field until 6:26 left in the game when Chris Johnson (8 pts, 7 reb) would hit a short jumper to trim Xavier’s lead to seven.
After Quinton Thornton’s bucket, and several empty possessions from either side, freshman Terrell Holloway (6 points) found senior BJ Raymond (21 pts, 3 reb) alone near the bucket to put Xavier ahead for good, 48-47, with 13:48 to go. Junior Jason Love (10 pts, 8 reb) scored the game’s next four off a lay-in and a pair of free throws to give Xavier a five-point cushion, 52-47, with just under 12 minutes to play.
A lay-up by junior Derrick Brown (22 pts, 9 reb) and free throw from senior CJ Anderson (7 pts, 9 reb) put Xavier up seven, 56-49, with 8:16 to go. LSU star Marcus Thornton (30 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast) notched a free throw, but Raymond answered on the other end with a three from the top of the key off a curl to give Xavier a 59-50 lead, capping a deciding 13-3 run for the Musketeers.
Though Xavier didn’t exactly run away from the Tigers during LSU’s field goal drought, the Musketeers were able to do considerable damage when the Tigers went 0-for-13 from the field over the stretch, only getting offense from Marcus Thornton’s three free throws. The Musketeers forced the Tigers into several one-and-done’s, played great defense on the post and drew fouls.
Just as Johnson’s jumper brought LSU to within seven, 59-52, Holloway answered with a three on the other end to push Xavier’s lead back to 10, 62-52, for the first time since the first half. Tasmin Mitchell (12 pts, 8 reb) drove and scored to cut it to eight, but freshman Kenny Frease (12 pts, 3 reb) muscled for position down low and answered to put Xavier back up by 10, 64-54, with just over five minutes to play.
Anderson drove the left side and hit a short jumper off the glass in traffic to give the Musketeers their largest lead of the game, 66-55, with 4:25 to play. The Tigers would cut the lead to six, 66-60, thanks to four straight points from Marcus Thornton. Raymond hit a pair of free throws in crunch time to put Xavier up by seven, 68-61, but Marcus Thornton cut it to five with a three off the dribble. Xavier would answer, however, when Raymond took the ball at the top of the key, drove his man to the hoop and scored, putting Xavier back up by seven with under two minutes to go.
LSU’s offense tried to keep them close, but their defense was forced to foul the Musketeers and hope for the best. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Xavier made good on their final eight attempts from the line to put the game away. LSU’s final shot attempts missed, and the Musketeers were able to corral the rebounds, solidifying the win from the line.
Anderson started the parade to the charity stripe, hitting his first two, followed by six straight from Raymond, and the final two from Brown. All tolled, Xavier made their last 13 free throw attempts of the contest, and went 20-for-24 for the game for 83.3 percent.
In the first half, Xavier looked to impose their will early. After Marcus Thornton scored the game’s first two off a fadeaway jumper, Xavier went on a 12-2 run, keyed by a driving lay-up by Holloway, then followed by three the hard way from Brown with a kiss high off the glass while drawing a foul.
Love scored on a baby hook, Frease followed with a jumper in the lane, and Raymond capped the run with a quick three from the left wing, forcing an LSU timeout and giving Xavier a 12-4 lead 4:22 into the game.
With 14:04 left in the first half, Bo Spencer (10 pts, 3 ast) was fouled by Holloway on a made three. Spencer made the free throw and cut Xavier’s lead to four, 14-10. But Xavier stretched their lead to 10, 20-10, off an alley-oop from sophomore Dante Jackson (2 pts) to Brown, a lay-up off a drive from Jackson and a short jumper from Love.
But LSU would answer with a 10-0 run to knot the score at 20 with 9:38 left in the first half. Brown answered with a three to put Xavier back up, 23-20, but Johnson quickly answered back with a jumper of his own. Both teams traded buckets leading up to the half, with no team taking more than a two-point lead before the intermission.
With Xavier leading 36-34 just before the break, Marcus Thornton scored the final three points for LSU to give the Tigers the halftime lead, 37-36. Marcus Thornton picked up right where he left off to end the first half, canning a three to open the second half, giving the Tigers their largest lead of the night, 40-36. Brown answered right back with a net-shredding three of his own to trim Xavier’s deficit back to one.
Johnson gave the Tigers a three-point lead when he went baseline, taking Brown off the dribble and going underneath for a thunderous slam that ignited the crowd. But the enthusiasm was short-lived as Brown, yet again, answered with a three to knot the score at 44 with 17:28 to go. The teams would then trade leads before Raymond’s lay-in gave the Musketeers the lead for good to start the decisive run.
The win stretched Xavier’s road record to 6-0, and handed LSU their first home loss of the season in 15 games. It also ended the Tigers’ 17-game home winning streak. The Tigers did roar out of the gate in the first half, connecting on 50 percent of their field goal attempts, including 75 percent (3-for-4) from long distance.
But Xavier made the most of its superior frontcourt and depth, outscoring the Tigers in the paint by 10, and pulling down 41 boards to LSU’s 27. Xavier also focused their defense and made the most of their depth in the second half, forcing LSU into just 32.3 percent shooting from the field. The Musketeers did continue to have trouble taking care of the ball, turning it over 17 times with LSU scoring 15 off those turnovers.
Marcus Thornton led all scorers with 30 points, his second-consecutive 30-point effort. Brown led the Musketeers with 22, followed by Raymond with 21. Frease added 12 points off 6-of-8 shooting and Love rounded out Xavier’s double-digit scoring with 10 points to go with eight rebounds. Mitchell added 12 points and eight boards for the Tigers, followed by Spencer’s 10.
The Musketeers now return home to Cincinnati for the first time in over a week to take on the Charlotte 49ers on Wednesday at 7:30. In last season’s match-up in Charlotte, Xavier used 25 points from Josh Duncan to outlast the 49ers, 62-60. Charlotte (6-12, 1-4) is coming off an 80-53 loss at Temple.
By Mike Damone
A new moniker surfaced for the #15 Xavier Musketeers and their program Saturday night in their heated battle at a sold-out SEC venue that saw them withstand 10 ties, seven lead changes, a 17-game home winning streak and a hostile crowd to hold on for an 80-70 win: “culture of toughness”. During and after the dispatch of the LSU Tigers (15-4) on Saturday evening in front of a record-setting crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, ESPN commentator Fran Fraschilla used the term to describe Xavier’s history of tough defense, rebounding and finishing teams off in the clutch.
Such an ideal was manifest when a raucous, partisan crowd in purple and gold fell silent for much of the second half, when the Musketeers (17-2) held the Tigers without a field goal for more than nine minutes, overwhelmed the Tigers on the glass, and went on a modest run of their own to take control of the game and ice it from the free-throw line.
Despite LSU’s urgency in notching a “marquee win” against a top 25 team, the capacity crowd in their favor, and a 17-game home winning streak boasted by the hot SEC team, the “tough” Musketeers seemed unfazed, withstanding each Tiger charge with interior strength of their own and tight halfcourt defense.
With 15:23 remaining in the second half and both teams essentially trading leads, LSU’s Quinton Thornton (3 pts, 3 reb) made a short jumper over the Xavier trees to put the Tigers up, 47-46. It was a low-post battle indicative of the evening’s affairs, but it would also mark the beginning of the end for the Tigers, as LSU would not score from the field until 6:26 left in the game when Chris Johnson (8 pts, 7 reb) would hit a short jumper to trim Xavier’s lead to seven.
After Quinton Thornton’s bucket, and several empty possessions from either side, freshman Terrell Holloway (6 points) found senior BJ Raymond (21 pts, 3 reb) alone near the bucket to put Xavier ahead for good, 48-47, with 13:48 to go. Junior Jason Love (10 pts, 8 reb) scored the game’s next four off a lay-in and a pair of free throws to give Xavier a five-point cushion, 52-47, with just under 12 minutes to play.
A lay-up by junior Derrick Brown (22 pts, 9 reb) and free throw from senior CJ Anderson (7 pts, 9 reb) put Xavier up seven, 56-49, with 8:16 to go. LSU star Marcus Thornton (30 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast) notched a free throw, but Raymond answered on the other end with a three from the top of the key off a curl to give Xavier a 59-50 lead, capping a deciding 13-3 run for the Musketeers.
Though Xavier didn’t exactly run away from the Tigers during LSU’s field goal drought, the Musketeers were able to do considerable damage when the Tigers went 0-for-13 from the field over the stretch, only getting offense from Marcus Thornton’s three free throws. The Musketeers forced the Tigers into several one-and-done’s, played great defense on the post and drew fouls.
Just as Johnson’s jumper brought LSU to within seven, 59-52, Holloway answered with a three on the other end to push Xavier’s lead back to 10, 62-52, for the first time since the first half. Tasmin Mitchell (12 pts, 8 reb) drove and scored to cut it to eight, but freshman Kenny Frease (12 pts, 3 reb) muscled for position down low and answered to put Xavier back up by 10, 64-54, with just over five minutes to play.
Anderson drove the left side and hit a short jumper off the glass in traffic to give the Musketeers their largest lead of the game, 66-55, with 4:25 to play. The Tigers would cut the lead to six, 66-60, thanks to four straight points from Marcus Thornton. Raymond hit a pair of free throws in crunch time to put Xavier up by seven, 68-61, but Marcus Thornton cut it to five with a three off the dribble. Xavier would answer, however, when Raymond took the ball at the top of the key, drove his man to the hoop and scored, putting Xavier back up by seven with under two minutes to go.
LSU’s offense tried to keep them close, but their defense was forced to foul the Musketeers and hope for the best. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Xavier made good on their final eight attempts from the line to put the game away. LSU’s final shot attempts missed, and the Musketeers were able to corral the rebounds, solidifying the win from the line.
Anderson started the parade to the charity stripe, hitting his first two, followed by six straight from Raymond, and the final two from Brown. All tolled, Xavier made their last 13 free throw attempts of the contest, and went 20-for-24 for the game for 83.3 percent.
In the first half, Xavier looked to impose their will early. After Marcus Thornton scored the game’s first two off a fadeaway jumper, Xavier went on a 12-2 run, keyed by a driving lay-up by Holloway, then followed by three the hard way from Brown with a kiss high off the glass while drawing a foul.
Love scored on a baby hook, Frease followed with a jumper in the lane, and Raymond capped the run with a quick three from the left wing, forcing an LSU timeout and giving Xavier a 12-4 lead 4:22 into the game.
With 14:04 left in the first half, Bo Spencer (10 pts, 3 ast) was fouled by Holloway on a made three. Spencer made the free throw and cut Xavier’s lead to four, 14-10. But Xavier stretched their lead to 10, 20-10, off an alley-oop from sophomore Dante Jackson (2 pts) to Brown, a lay-up off a drive from Jackson and a short jumper from Love.
But LSU would answer with a 10-0 run to knot the score at 20 with 9:38 left in the first half. Brown answered with a three to put Xavier back up, 23-20, but Johnson quickly answered back with a jumper of his own. Both teams traded buckets leading up to the half, with no team taking more than a two-point lead before the intermission.
With Xavier leading 36-34 just before the break, Marcus Thornton scored the final three points for LSU to give the Tigers the halftime lead, 37-36. Marcus Thornton picked up right where he left off to end the first half, canning a three to open the second half, giving the Tigers their largest lead of the night, 40-36. Brown answered right back with a net-shredding three of his own to trim Xavier’s deficit back to one.
Johnson gave the Tigers a three-point lead when he went baseline, taking Brown off the dribble and going underneath for a thunderous slam that ignited the crowd. But the enthusiasm was short-lived as Brown, yet again, answered with a three to knot the score at 44 with 17:28 to go. The teams would then trade leads before Raymond’s lay-in gave the Musketeers the lead for good to start the decisive run.
The win stretched Xavier’s road record to 6-0, and handed LSU their first home loss of the season in 15 games. It also ended the Tigers’ 17-game home winning streak. The Tigers did roar out of the gate in the first half, connecting on 50 percent of their field goal attempts, including 75 percent (3-for-4) from long distance.
But Xavier made the most of its superior frontcourt and depth, outscoring the Tigers in the paint by 10, and pulling down 41 boards to LSU’s 27. Xavier also focused their defense and made the most of their depth in the second half, forcing LSU into just 32.3 percent shooting from the field. The Musketeers did continue to have trouble taking care of the ball, turning it over 17 times with LSU scoring 15 off those turnovers.
Marcus Thornton led all scorers with 30 points, his second-consecutive 30-point effort. Brown led the Musketeers with 22, followed by Raymond with 21. Frease added 12 points off 6-of-8 shooting and Love rounded out Xavier’s double-digit scoring with 10 points to go with eight rebounds. Mitchell added 12 points and eight boards for the Tigers, followed by Spencer’s 10.
The Musketeers now return home to Cincinnati for the first time in over a week to take on the Charlotte 49ers on Wednesday at 7:30. In last season’s match-up in Charlotte, Xavier used 25 points from Josh Duncan to outlast the 49ers, 62-60. Charlotte (6-12, 1-4) is coming off an 80-53 loss at Temple.